The Ukrainian Rada today overwhelmingly confirmed Yehven Khmara as the new Defense Minister of the country. Khmara, who comes out of the Security Forces rather than the army, has a background in special forces and “black ops.” He worked for a long time in the SBU’s Special Operations Center “A,” which conducts special ops and is considered one of the most secretive and well-trained units of the Ukrainian intelligence service. In 20-14 Khmara was involved in the first post-Maidan operations to suppress the revolt in Donbas and at the beginning of the war in 2022 in operations to relieve Kiev. His unit was also responsible for drone warfare and long-range strikes into Russia. This group was also linked to the Ukrainian operation, “Spider Web,” that targeted Russian airfields.
Already from the get-go, Khmara has made it clear that he will pursue the war against Russia with utter ruthlessness. When his appointment was made, he simply announced his plans to “force” Russia to make peace. saying this could only be accomplished “by the strength of our army, our technological and symmetrical solutions.”
