Ukraine’s parliament dismisses top defense, security officials in latest government reshuffle

The Ukrainian parliament voted Tuesday to dismiss top defense and security officials amid a government reshuffle initiated by President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Lawmakers in the Verkhovna Rada voted to dismiss Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal, Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov and Vasyl Maliuk, the head of the Security Service (SBU), in the latest wartime reshuffle.

Shmyhal and Fedorov's dismissals were supported by 265 and 270 deputies, respectively, while Maliuk was removed with 235 votes, according to the parliament on Telegram.

The votes came as Zelensky said earlier this month that the country would undergo "substantial" internal changes to boost resilience as the Russia-Ukraine war nears its four-year mark.

The president proposed appointing Fedorov as the next defense minister, while naming Shmyhal as a candidate for first deputy prime minister and energy minister.

The energy minister post has been vacant since November, when Svitlana Hrynchuk resigned amid a $100 million corruption investigation into the energy sector.

She had assumed the role last July during the largest cabinet reshuffle since Russia launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Separately, Maliuk announced last week that he is stepping down as SBU chief, but noted he will remain within the service's system to implement "world-class asymmetric special operations, which will continue to cause maximum damage" to Russia.

Zelensky later signed a decree appointing Yevhenii Khmara, the head of the SBU's Alpha special operations unit, as the security service's acting chief.

Ukrainian media outlets, including state news agency Ukrinform, reported that another vote on appointing Shmyhal as energy minister was supported by 210 lawmakers, falling short of the minimum 226 votes.