Rustem Umerov Appointed New NSDC Secretary After Resigning as Defence Minister

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appointed former Defence Minister Rustem Umerov as the new Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine.

The official decree announcing the appointment was published on the website of the Office of the President.

On July 16, the Verkhovna Rada approved the resignation of Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal along with his entire Cabinet.

The following day, July 17, the former Prime Minister was appointed Minister of Defence in the new government, following a nomination by the President.

As Rustem Umierov announced on his Facebook page, he has already received several key tasks from the President, which will be his top priorities:

• Coordination and oversight of the security and defense sector
• Weapons
• Technology and innovation
• Negotiation track

Umerov also stated that in the near future, an audit would be conducted to assess the implementation of decisions made by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief’s Staff, and the full-scale operation of the technology staff would be resumed.

In addition, the new NSDC Secretary will continue to coordinate all arms deliveries, joint production efforts, and defense partnerships – including in the most sensitive areas.