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Ukrainian President replaces Defense Minister and General Staff Chief

03 July 2014 13:13 (UTC +04:00)

Baku – APA. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has asked the Verkhovna Rada to endorse the appointment of Colonel General Valeriy Heletei to the post of defense minister and the appointment of Lieutenant General Viktor Muzhenko to the post of General Staff chief, and both of his proposals were adopted, APA reports citing Ukrainian sources.

The president announced in the Verkhovna Rada that he freed former Chief of the General Staff Mikhail Kutsin from this position due to a brain concussion in the fight in eastern Ukraine yesterday and that he appoints Viktor Muzhenko as the chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

And Valerii Heletei was named the country’s new defense minister. Heletei will immediately replace current acting Defense Minister Mykhailo Koval, who will now be deputy secretary of the country's National Security and Defense Council (NSDC).