Zelensky appoints Umerov as head of Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appointed Kyiv’s chief negotiator and former Defense Minister Rustem Umerov as head of the country’s Foreign Intelligence Service, according to a decree published by the presidential office on Monday.

Umerov’s current position as secretary of the National Security and Defense Council will be taken over by Ihor Klymenko, who was serving as minister of internal affairs, as announced in a separate presidential decree. Klymenko had been considered by lawmakers the leading candidate to replace ousted Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.

Umerov’s appointment comes as part of a broader reshuffle of Ukraine’s security leadership that Zelenskyy announced in July. The overhaul included the dismissals of Fedorov , Commander-in-Chief Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi and others. Ukraine needed “more strength” in its wartime leadership, said Zelenskyy.

Umerov will now be in charge of a broader portfolio including “diplomacy, defense, negotiations with the U.S. and other designated partners, as well as talks on ending the war,” according to Zelenskyy’s announcement . A key participant in Ukraine-Russia negotiations, Umerov will also continue overseeing work on the EU–Ukraine Drone Deal.