First Deputy Defense Minister Appointed by Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers

The Cabinet of Ministers, on Tuesday, Feb. 14, appointed Lt. Gen. Oleksandr Pavlyuk, 52, to the post of First Deputy Minister of Defense.

From March to May 2022, Pavliuk was the head of the Kyiv Regional Military Administration, and from July 2021 to March 2022 the commander of the Joint Forces Operation.

Ivan Rusnak, the former First Deputy Defense Minister, was dismissed from the position.

Earlier, Reznikov said that he wanted to dismiss his deputies Ivan Rusnak and Oleh Haiduk and appoint Oleksandr Pavlyuk to the post of First Deputy Minister, Vitaliy Deynega to the post of deputy for digital development, and former ambassador Andriy Shevchenko to the post of deputy for European integration.

“I invited new people to the team. According to the procedure, I submitted the candidates for the positions to the President of Ukraine for approval. After that, the approval by the government should take place,” he wrote.

For the post of Deputy Minister for Digital Development, Digital Transformation, and Digitization, Reznikov suggested a 39-year-old documentary journalist Vitaliy Deynega , founder and of the Come Back Alive charity foundation.

The post of Deputy Minister for European Integration is reportedly going to be obtained by the former Ambassador of Ukraine to Canada, Andriy Shevchenko. The 46-year-old Shevchenko was ambassador to Canada from September 2015 to August 2021. Before that he had been a member of parliament.

Other Topics of Interest

Eurotopics: EU Starts Accession Talks With Ukraine and Moldova

However, it remains to be seen how long the negotiations will last and whether they will culminate in accession. Commentators discuss the next steps.