Zelensky changes the NSDC composition following personnel changes in the government

President Volodymyr Zelensky has issued a decree altering the composition of the National Security and Defence Council (NSDC) following the Verkhovna Rada’s dismissal and appointment of new ministers on September 4 and 5. The relevant presidential decree was published on his website on September 13.

According to the document, Zelensky has removed the following individuals from the NSDC:

• Former Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba
• Former Minister for Strategic Industries Oleksandr Kamyshyn

The new NSDC members are:

• Minister of Foreign Affairs Andriy Sybiga
• Minister for Strategic Industries Herman Smetanin
• Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration and Minister of Justice Olha Stefanishyna

On September 5, the Verkhovna Rada appointed:

• Natalia Kalmykova as Minister of Veterans’ Affairs
• Svitlana Hrynchuk as Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine
• Oleksiy Kuleba as Minister of Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine and Vice Prime Minister for Reconstruction of Ukraine
• Olga Stefanishyna as Minister of Justice and Vice Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration
• Vitaliy Koval as Minister of Agrarian Policy
• Herman Smetanin as Minister for Strategic Industries
• Mykola Tochytskyi as Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications
• Matviy Bidnyi as Minister of Youth and Sports
• Andriy Sybiga as Minister of Foreign Affairs

On September 4, the Verkhovna Rada also dismissed Iryna Vereshchuk as Minister of Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories. Her replacement has not yet been appointed.

Some of the dismissed ministers have taken positions in the President’s Office. For instance, Oleksandr Kamyshyn has become the President’s advisor on strategic issues, while Iryna Vereshchuk has been appointed as deputy head of the Presidential Office. The same position was also given to Viktor Mykyta, the previously dismissed head of the Zakarpattia Regional State Administration.