Rustem Umerov, who was born in Uzbekistan, has been appointed Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council (NSDC). President Volodymyr Zelensky signed the order this week.
Umerov’s background
Umerov was born in 1982 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, into a Crimean Tatar family. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, he moved to Crimea.
He became Ukraine’s Minister of Defence in 2023 and previously led the State Property Fund of Ukraine.
From rejected ambassador to security chief
Ukrainian officials had planned to appoint Umerov as ambassador to the United States. But Washington reportedly rejected the nomination.
Zelensky later appointed him to the NSDC, one of the country’s top decision-making bodies for national defence.
Umerov also led Ukraine’s peace delegation at negotiations with Russia in Istanbul during the early months of the war.
Kursiv Uzbekistan also reports that more than 3,500 women are officially required to pay child support.
