Poroshenko announces new Ukrainian defense minister
Iran Press TV
Mon Oct 13, 2014 3:32PM GMT
Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko has proposed the country's National Guard Commander Stepan Poltorak for the job of defense minister.
"Poroshenko nominated Stepan Poltorak to the defense minister's post, the candidacy to be considered by the Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian parliament)," Ukraine's presidential website said in statement released on Monday.
Poltorak was named to replace Valeriy Heletey.
Heletey stepped down as defense minister amid criticism over failures suffered by the Ukrainian army during its military operation in the country's eastern provinces, particularly the August setback in Ilovaisk in Donetsk Oblast, which left more than 100 Ukrainian military personnel dead.
Poroshenko's office announced on Sunday that the president had accepted Heletey's resignation, who served as the country's defense minister for three months.
Ukraine's parliament is expected to vote on Tuesday on Poroshenko's nomination of Poltorak, who has headed the National Guard since April.
Kiev and pro-Russian forces inked a Russian-proposed truce pact on September 5 in a move to put an end to heavy clashes in Ukraine's eastern parts but the fighting continues unabated.
Ukraine's mainly Russian-speaking regions in the east have witnessed deadly clashes between pro-Moscow activists and the Ukrainian army since Kiev launched military operations to silence pro-Russians in mid-April.
Violence intensified in May after Donetsk and Lugansk regions held local referendums, in which their residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence from Ukraine.
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