2 Ukrainian military officers appointed as deputy defense ministers
Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers appointed two new deputy ministers of defense on Feb. 7, Taras Melnychuk, the Cabinet's representative in parliament, announced.
The deputy ministers are Lieutenant General Yevhen Moysiuk and Captain Valerii Churkin.
"These decisions are part of a comprehensive approach to strengthening our Armed Forces, modernizing management, and advancing military technology," Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said.
The appointment came a week after Umerov faced backlash following his decision to fire Maryna Bezrukova, head of Ukraine's Defense Procurement Agency (DPA). The minister replaced her with Arsen Zhumadilov as temporary director, despite the agency's supervisory board voting to extend her contract days earlier.
Umerov also dismissed Deputy Defense Minister Dmytro Klimenkov and two agency supervisory board members, Taras Chmut and Yuriy Dzhygyr.
In late January, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) launched a criminal investigation into the potential abuse of power, as well as office position by Umerov.
Described as "one of the most experienced officers" in the Ukrainian army, Moysiuk served as the Air Assault Forces commander and was deputy to former Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi.
Earlier in the day, President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed Moysiuk as special commissioner on implementation of the international security agreements.
He will be in charge of the development of Ukraine's Defense Forces, including mobilization and military training, Umerov said.
Churkin, who joined the Armed Forces at the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion, is the head of Ukraine's Center for Scaling Technology Solutions. As deputy defense minister, he will focus on defense innovations and technological development of the Ukrainian army.
Dominic Culverwell
