Yevhen Khmara
Minister of Defence of Ukraine
Ministry of Defence of Ukraine
Country: Ukraine
Acting Minister of Defence of Ukraine since July 2026, appointed following the dismissal of Mykhailo Fedorov. Previously served as Acting Head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). Major general with a background in Ukrainian counterintelligence, formally nominated as Defence Minister by President Zelenskyy on 18 August 2026.
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![Ukrainian Defence Minister Evgeniy Khmara and Moldovan Defence Minister Anatolie Nosatîi sign a five-year military-technical cooperation agreement. (Source: Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence)]( "Ukrainian Defence Minister Evgeniy Khmara and Moldovan Defence Minister Anatolie Nosatîi sign a five-year military-technical cooperation agreement. (Source: Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence)")
![Russia’s Jet-Powered Shahed Drones Can Hit 600 KM/H. Ukraine Is Scaling Up Ways to Take Them Down]( "Russia’s Jet-Powered Shahed Drones Can Hit 600 KM/H. Ukraine Is Scaling Up Ways to Take Them Down")
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![Photo of Illia Kabachynskyi]( "Photo of Illia Kabachynskyi")
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- War in Ukraine
Russia’s jet-powered Shaheds are emerging as one of Ukraine’s biggest air defense challenges. Capable of reaching 600 km/h, they demand new countermeasures, even as Ukraine intercepts more than 90% of conventional Shaheds. Kyiv is now expanding its layered defenses to keep pace with the evolving threat.![Ukraine’s Alexa Spatium jet-powered interceptor drone mounted on a mobile launch catapult. (Photo: Ministry of Defense of Ukraine)]( "Ukraine’s Alexa Spatium jet-powered interceptor drone mounted on a mobile launch catapult. (Photo: Ministry of Defense of Ukraine)")
![A Russian S-400 missile launcher seen through a Ukrainian drone’s targeting camera shortly before a strike. (Source: Security Service of Ukraine)]( "A Russian S-400 missile launcher seen through a Ukrainian drone’s targeting camera shortly before a strike. (Source: Security Service of Ukraine)")
![Ukraine’s Defense Minister Yevhenii Khmara addresses members of the Ukrainian parliament before they vote to elect Ukraine’s new defense minister in Kyiv on August 19, 2026.]( "Ukraine’s Defense Minister Yevhenii Khmara addresses members of the Ukrainian parliament before they vote to elect Ukraine’s new defense minister in Kyiv on August 19, 2026.")
-72b63a4e0c8c475ad81fe3eed3f63729.jpeg "Photo of Cyril Barabaltchouk")
-29a1a43aba23f9bb779a1ac8b98d2121.jpeg "Photo of Illia Kabachynskyi")
