MOSCOW, July 17. /TASS/. Andrey Sibiga and Yevgeny Khmara have been appointed acting foreign and defense ministers of Ukraine, Prime Minister Sergey Koretsky said.

"In coordination with Vladimir Zelensky, the government appointed Yevgeny Khmara as acting defense minister and Andrey Sibiga as acting foreign minister," he wrote on Telegram.

On Thursday, the Verkhovna Rada approved the appointment of 16 ministers of the new cabinet formed by Koretsky with the exception of the heads of the foreign and defense ministers, whose candidacies should be submitted by Zelensky.

Later, Zelensky assigned Acting Chairman of the Security Service of Ukraine Khmara to temporarily serve as the defense minister and Sibiga to temporarily serve as the foreign minister. Now, under the law, they have been approved by the government in the status of interim officers. Their appointment to permanent positions must be approved by the Rada, which will meet, as previously reported by Deputy Alexey Goncharenko (on the Russian list of terrorists and extremists), for the next plenary session on August 18. However, if necessary, the speaker may appoint additional sittings. So far, according to the calendar plan, deputies are working in committees and with voters until July 24, after which they will go on vacation until mid-August.