"Priority is to retain Ministry of Defence team; certain areas will be reinforced," - Khmara

Ukraine’s new Minister of Defence, Yevhen Khmara, plans to retain the ministry’s core team to continue ongoing projects, whilst the Ministry of Defence will be strengthened through new appointments. In particular, Hanna Hvozdar will be responsible for the defence industry and exports, and special attention will be paid to digital transformation and cognitive warfare.

According to Censor.NET, citing a report by "Interfax-Ukraine", he made these remarks during a meeting with journalists.

Retaining the Ministry of Defence team

"The priority is to retain the Ministry of Defence’s team. The Ministry still has strong specialists with expertise and a sense of public duty. Their task is to ensure continuity in the work, to continue important projects and to strengthen those areas that require additional attention," said Khmara.

At the same time, he noted that the team would also be bolstered by new recruits:

On 3 August, Mykola Shvydkyi was appointed Deputy Minister of Defence, with responsibility for the front line.
Liubov Halan was appointed Deputy Minister of Defence of Ukraine on 29 July and is responsible for the development and retention of human capital within the Defence Forces.

Khmara noted that, on his initiative, Serhii Boiev had returned to the team, emphasising that his experience was important for working with international partners.

Hanna Hvozdiar’s responsibilities

"There are plans to strengthen the defence industry and exports in the near future. Hanna Hvozdiar will become the deputy in charge of this area.

"Separately, the Ministry will be stepping up its efforts in the areas of digital transformation and cognitive warfare. For the digital sector, we are considering an individual with combat experience and a track record of working at the Ministry of Defence. For cognitive warfare, a candidate has already been selected and the tasks have been defined," said the Defence Minister.

When asked by journalists about the possible return of former Minister Mykhailo Fedorov to the Ministry of Defence as an adviser or in another capacity, Khmara noted that they had had one meeting in July. At that meeting, Khmara suggested finding some way or format to continue working together on projects. Khmara did not suggest any specific posts, and there has been no response from Fedorov as yet.