Verkhovna Rada appoints Kalmykova Minister for Veterans Affairs

The Verkhovna Rada has appointed Nataliya Kalmykova as Minister for Veterans' Affairs.

Her candidacy was supported by 256 MPs. This was announced by MP Oleksiy Honcharenko. 

Prior to her appointment to the Ministry for Veterans' Affairs, Kalmykova was Deputy Minister of Defence. The Ministry for Veterans' Affairs was temporarily headed by Porkhun, who will now go to work in the President's Office. 

Who is Nataliya Kalmykova?

She graduated from Vinnytsya National Medical University (September 1999 - June 2005) and Vinnytsya Academy of Continuing Education with a Master's degree in Public Administration and Management (September 2019 - March 2021) (diploma with honours).She studied at MIM-Kyiv Business School under the MBA programme. She successfully completed the Fulbright Research and Development programme at the State University of New York at Buffalo. She was involved in research on ‘Female leadership in the military’, cooperation with veteran organisations, US authorities, Syracuse University, and the Institute for Veterans and Military Families.

From 2005 to 2012, she was an intern at the City Emergency Hospital in Vinnytsya.

From 2007 to 2008 - Medical Consultant at the representative office of Alcon Pharmaceuticals Ltd. in Ukraine (part-time).

From 2008 to 2012 - Marketing Consultant at Delta Medical, PE (part-time).

From 2014 to 2015 - Marketing Consultant in Vinnytsya, Ukraine, at Delta Medical.

From 2015 to 2017 - marketing consultant in Vinnytsya, Ukraine, at Delta Medical.

From 2018 to 2021 - Manager of the International Charitable Foundation ‘Come Back Alive’.

From June to December 2021 - Gender Adviser of the Land Forces Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

From February 2022 to September 2023, she was the Executive Director of the Ukrainian Veterans Fund.

In April 2014, she became a volunteer and helped the Ukrainian army. During the period of her cooperation with the security and defence sector, she was awarded a number of decorations and medals from the Ministry of Defence, the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the branches of the Armed Forces.

On 27 September 2023, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine appointed Nataliya Kalmykova Deputy Minister of Defence of Ukraine for Social Development.