Khmara's Team to Include Crackdown on TCC Arbitrariness in Government Action Plan: What the Deputy Minister Stated in the Verkhovna Rada

Vasyl Shkurakov, Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine, stated during the government question hour in the Verkhovna Rada that the new head of the defense department, Yevhen Khmara, and his team will join the efforts to address the problem of illegal actions by Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Centers (TCCs). According to the Deputy Minister, the Cabinet of Ministers has already prepared an action plan in which these issues are specifically addressed, and the Ministry of Defense has taken direct responsibility for managing the political process regarding the situation with the TCCs.

Government Action Plan Regarding the TCC Situation

Shkurakov emphasized that measures to regulate the situation with TCC operations will not remain at the level of individual departmental initiatives: they will be systematically recorded in the government's action plan for both the current and the following year. Thus, an issue that has provoked sharp public reaction for a long time is being elevated to the status of a priority task for the executive branch, with a specific time horizon and responsible structures.

Division of Competencies: General Staff and Ministry of Defense

At the same time, the Deputy Head of the Ministry of Defense made an important clarification regarding the distribution of powers. According to him, the direct question of organizing TCC work falls within the competence of the General Staff, specifically the Ground Forces Command, which is responsible for planning and conducting this work. The Ministry of Defense, in turn, will focus on the political support of the process. This division essentially establishes a two-level model: operational management of recruitment remains in the hands of the military command, while the political and managerial framework falls within the responsibility of the defense department and the government as a whole.

Consultations with Military Leadership Have Already Started

Shkurakov confirmed that consultations on this issue have already begun with the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Mykhailo Drapaty, as well as with the Head of the General Staff, Ihor Skibiuk. He explained that this involves joint work not only within the Ministry of Defense but also the Cabinet of Ministers as a whole. This indicates that solving the TCC problem is viewed as an interdepartmental task requiring coordinated actions by the civilian government and the military command.

Context: Khmara's Appointment and His Priorities

The statements were made against the backdrop of a recent change in the leadership of the defense department: as reported by RBK-Ukraine, Yevhen Khmara became the Minister of Defense of Ukraine on August 19, 2026. Directly in parliament, he announced his resignation from military service and publicly revealed his own priorities in the new position. In this context, the inclusion of the TCC problem in the government action plan appears as one of the first systematic steps of the new minister aimed at legitimizing and systematizing the recruitment process of the armed forces.