The government dismissed the deputy minister of national defense and the secretary of state in the ministry

On September 18, the Cabinet of Ministers dismissed six deputy ministers of national defense and the ministry's secretary of state. The first deputy minister of defense, Lieutenant General Oleksandr Pavlyuk, did not lose his position.

This was announced by the government representative in the Verkhovna Rada, Taras Melnychuk.

Released:

• Gavrilov Volodymyr Valerianovich from the position of Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine;
• Rostislav Teodoziyovych Zamlynsky as Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine;
• Painter Hanna Wasyliwna from the position of Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine;
• Denis Oleksandrovych Sharapov as Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine;
• Andriy Vitalyovich Shevchenko from the position of Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine for European Integration;
• Deinegu Vitaly Olehowycz from the position of Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine for Digital Development, Digital Transformations and Digitization;
• Vashchenko Kostyantyn Oleksandrovich from the position of Secretary of State in the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

Umerov has said his priorities include making the ministry the main institution for coordinating Ukrainian defence forces, enhancing the value attached to individual soldiers, developing Ukraine's military industry and fighting corruption.

“Reboot. We started. We do it. We are working as usual. The rest of the news will appear later. Now we focus on Ramstein," Defense Minister Umerov wrote on Facebook.

Maliar, a war crimes lawyer, had served as a deputy defence minister since 2021 and her latest update on the war in Ukraine appeared on Monday morning.

She faced criticism last week after initially reporting that Ukrainian forces had recaptured an eastern village from Russian forces, but later saying her report was inaccurate and that fighting was still raging around the village. Its capture was then announced by the military the next day, but Russia has since denied losing control of the village.

Changes in Ukraine's Ministry of Defense Leadership

On September 6, the Verkhovna Rada elected a new defense minister, former head of the State Property Fund, Rustem Umerov. In this position, he replaced Oleksiy Reznikov, who was fired the day before. Volodymyr Zelensky proposed Umerov's candidacy: "The ministry needs a new approach and other forms of interaction – both with the army and with the entire society," he said, adding that "Mr. Umerov does not need additional introductions."