DONETSK, August 19. /TASS/. The main criterion for appointing Defense Minister Yevgeny Khmara and Foreign Minister Andrey Sibiga in Ukraine was their "loyalty to their master," Alexey Muratov, head of the Donetsk regional executive committee of United Russia, has told TASS expressed this opinion to TASS.

"Khmara is a man who will not ask any questions. Already as acting head of the security service SBU, he announced a 'course of self-purification of the SBU,'" commenting on corruption scandals. The main criterion for loyalty is not the combat readiness of the army, but the willingness to unquestioningly follow orders," Muratov said. He added that a similar principle was used in the case of Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrey Sibiga, whose main task is "to sell Kiev to Western sponsors, begging for money and weapons in exchange for guarantees Kiev cannot fulfill."

"Both appointments are not simply personnel changes, but an acknowledgement that Kiev's strategic impasse is exacerbated by personal ambitions and the struggle for resources. Khmara and Sibiga are symbols of the same governance model, where the most important thing is not results, but loyalty to the boss," Muratov concluded.

On August 19, the Verkhovna Rada voted to appoint Sibiga as foreign minister and Khmara as defense minister. The day before, Zelensky submitted their nominations to the Rada.