Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has appointed National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov as head of the country’s Foreign Intelligence Service, according to a decree published on the presidential website on August 3.
In a separate decree, Zelensky named former Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko as the new secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, replacing Umerov.
Zelensky said Umerov would continue coordinating Ukraine’s international drone cooperation while remaining involved in diplomatic efforts and negotiations aimed at ending Russia’s full-scale war. Umerov leads Ukraine’s delegation in the trilateral talks with Russia and the United States, which have been stalled since February, and has also worked on defense agreements with partners in the Middle East.
“He has greater capacity to deal with these issues simultaneously: diplomacy, defense and the negotiations process with the U.S. and some other partners,” Zelensky said at an annual conference of Ukrainian diplomatic mission chiefs attended by more than 100 diplomats.
The president said Umerov would oversee new international drone agreements in his intelligence role. Ukraine already has such arrangements with nine countries and is negotiating with another 15, according to Zelensky.
