At the plenary session on January 13, the deputies of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine approved the resignation of Denys Shmyhal from the position of Minister of Defense. A total of 265 parliamentarians voted in favor of this decision.
Speaking before his colleagues, Shmyhal expressed confidence that his departure would lay the groundwork for future reforms and changes, and that the results achieved would contribute to Ukraine's resilience.
In addition, the parliamentarians agreed to the dismissal of Vasyl Maliuk from the position of head of the Security Service of Ukraine, with 235 deputies voting in favor. Maliuk announced his intention to leave the post at the beginning of January, and Yevhen Khmara, who previously headed the Special Operations Center "A," has been appointed as the interim head of the SBU.
Denys Shmyhal had been the Minister of Defense since July 2025. Previously, he served as Prime Minister for five years. In early 2026, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced plans to change the format of the Ministry of Defense's work and proposed to head the agency Mikhail Fedorov, the Minister of Digital Transformation.
