The national flag waves as workers install the Ukrainian coat of arms on the shield in the hand of the country's tallest statue, the Motherland Monument, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Aug 6, 2023. (PHOTO / AP)

KYIV - The Ukrainian government dismissed all six deputy defense ministers and the state secretary of the Defense Ministry, said Taras Melnychuk, the cabinet's representative in the parliament, on Monday.

Deputy Defense Ministers Volodymyr Havrylov, Rostyslav Zamlynskiy, Hanna Malyar, Denys Sharapov, Andriy Shevchenko and Vitaliy Deynega, as well as State Secretary Kostyantyn Vashchenko have been ousted by the cabinet, Melnychuk wrote on Telegram.

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The move came after Rustem Umerov became Ukraine's new defense minister earlier this month, replacing Oleksii Reznikov.

According to the government-run Ukrinform news agency, Umerov asked all deputy defense ministers to voluntarily submit their resignation letters.