Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appointed Rustem Umerov as Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC), according to decree No. 496/2025, posted on the president's website on July 18.
Zelenskyy also signed a decree dismissing Oleksandr Lytvynenko from the position of NSDC Secretary.
Umerov has served as Defense Minister since September 2023. Previously, he was the head of the State Property Fund and deputy head of Ukraine’s permanent delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
On July 17, MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak claimed that Washington had not approved Umerov’s candidacy as ambassador to the United States.
On the same day, the Ukrainian parliament voted to appoint former Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal as the next Defense Minister.