ADDS DETAILS ON APPOINTMENTS, EXTENSION OF MARTIAL AND MOBILIZATION LAWS; CHANGES DECK
By Elena Teslova
MOSCOW (AA) - Ukraine’s parliament on Wednesday approved the appointment of Mykhailo Fedorov, former minister of digital transformation, as the country's new defense minister.
"The parliament voted for the appointment of Mykhailo Fedorov to the post of Minister of Defense of Ukraine. 277 people's deputies voted for the relevant resolution," according to results published on the parliament’s Telegram channel.
Fedorov was nominated for the position on Tuesday by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The same day, parliament approved his dismissal as minister of digital transformation.
The votes followed Zelenskyy’s announcement earlier this month that Ukraine would undergo “substantial” internal changes to strengthen resilience as the Russia-Ukraine war will enter its fifth year next month.
Fedorov replaced Denis Shmyhal, who was nominated for the roles of first deputy prime minister and energy minister. The energy portfolio has been vacant since November, when Svitlana Hrynchuk resigned amid a $100 million corruption investigation into the energy sector.
Later in the day, the parliament also supported Shmyhal's nomination as the first deputy prime minister and energy minister with 248 votes in favor.
The parliament also extended the martial and mobilization laws in Ukraine for another 90 days starting Feb. 3, when the current approved period ends.