As of today, 21 February, Lieutenant General of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Pavlyuk has taken up his post as First Deputy Minister of Defence, according to his Telegram post.
"I thank each and every one of you with whom I had the opportunity to build up the power of the Land Forces and defend our independence in the combat operations in the East and Kyiv Region. You are the pride of the Armed Forces. You are the ones who are fighting for the Victory. It was an honour to do it side by side with you! As of today, I am First Deputy Minister of Defence," he wrote.
Pavlyuk noted that cooperation between the military and civilians is the only effective way to defeat the enemy.
On 14 February, the Cabinet of Ministers appointed Oleksandr Pavlyuk as First Deputy Minister of Defence of Ukraine. At the same time, the government dismissed Ivan Rusnak as First Deputy Minister of Defence and Oleh Hayduk as Deputy Minister of Defence for Digital Development, Digital Transformation and Digitalization.
In addition, Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov submitted to the President for approval the candidacies of Vitaliy Deyneha, founder of the Come Back Alive Foundation, as Deputy Minister for Digital Development, Digital Transformation and Digitalization, and Andriy Shevchenko, former Ambassador of Ukraine to Canada, as Deputy Minister for European Integration.