Mykhailo Fedorov appointed Ukraine’s new defense minister

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Ukraine’s parliament on Wednesday approved the appointment of Mykhailo Fedorov, former minister of digital transformation, as the country's new defense minister.

"The parliament voted for the appointment of Mykhailo Fedorov to the post of Minister of Defense of Ukraine. 277 people's deputies voted for the relevant resolution," according to results published on the parliament’s Telegram channel.

Fedorov was nominated for the position on Tuesday by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The same day, parliament approved his dismissal as minister of digital transformation.

The votes followed Zelenskyy’s announcement earlier this month that Ukraine would undergo “substantial” internal changes to strengthen resilience as the Russia-Ukraine war will enter its fifth year next month.

Fedorov replaced Denis Shmyhal, who was nominated for the roles of first deputy prime minister and energy minister. The energy portfolio has been vacant since November, when Svitlana Hrynchuk resigned amid a $100 million corruption investigation into the energy sector.