The problem, Venislavskyi explains, is that the law mandates the office to be held by a civilian, not an active duty service member.
“I can’t tell you whether the president will consider candidates other than Yevhen Khmara when exercising his exclusive constitutional power to nominate the defense and foreign ministers to parliament,” he said.
“As far as I know, no nominations have been submitted to the Verkhovna Rada at this time. We will wait to see what decision the president makes.”
He noted that Zelenskyy has stated in speeches that Khmara is a combat general with the competencies needed to lead the Defense Ministry and parts of the security and defense sector. Venislavskyi said he would vote for Khmara if Zelenskyy nominates him.
Asked how that would square with the law requiring a civilian defense minister, Venislavskyi said there are two legitimate options.
“Either Mr. Khmara will go into the reserve for some reason, or we, as lawmakers, will amend the law to provide that during wartime the defense minister may be a military officer,” he said.
“Martial law and war impose many constraints on decisions that work normally in civilian life. One option is for a military officer to be minister. I don’t see a problem.”
On July 17, Khmara became acting Defense Minister;
before that, he was acting head of Ukraine’s SBU security service.