Poroshenko gets new defense leadership in place

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko led the government in approving on July 3 several new officials to lead Ukraine’s defense sector. Ukraine’s parliament approved the president’s nomination of Valeriy Heletey as the new defense minister. He rose the ranks of Ukraine’s internal affairs ministry before last serving as the head of Ukraine’s State Security Administration for top leaders.

 Poroshenko also announced his appointments of Lieut. Gen. Viktor Muzhenko as the new chairman of the joint chiefs of staff and Yuriy Kosyuk as first deputy presidential administration head, in charge of coordinating the material and technical supply and logistics of the armed forces. Kosyuk is the largest shareholder and chief executive officer of among the world’s largest poultry producers, MHP.

Poroshenko told U.S. Vice President Joe Biden in a July 3 telephone conversation that he’s willing to return to ceasefire conditions on certain terms, reported the presidential press-service. These conditions include a bilateral ceasefire (as opposed to Ukraine’s unilateral ceasefire last week), the release of all hostages and establishing OSCE monitoring of the border. The two leaders also discussed possible further international efforts to support Ukraine’s position. Biden expressed U.S. support for Poroshenko’s approach to settle the conflict.

Ukraine’s Armed Forces freed up the Donetsk region town of Mykolayivka on July 3, reported Dmytro Tymchuk of the Information Resistance news site. The attack involving artillery and aviation strikes destroyed six bases as well as several weapons caches. More than 150 pro-Russian terrorists were killed while Ukrainian forces suffered two casualties and four injured soldiers, Tymchuk reported.

Pro-Russian terrorists attacked the Dobzhansk border post in the Luhansk region with mortar fire on July 3, the State Border Service reported on July 3. As a result, nine Ukrainian border guards were wounded. The attack took place from a far distance in the early morning, the report said. At the end, the terrorists shot several rounds at the Russian border post in order to discredit the Ukrainian military, the report said. Ukrainian forces renewed the post’s activity on July 1.

Zenon Zawada: Poroshenko is continuing to approach his team based on two key principles: personal trust and successful management experience. This new team will be expected by the public to significantly de-escalate the Donbas war by the summer’s end, if not resolving it altogether.