The head of Ukraine's state defense conglomerate is out. Herman Smetanin announced on social media that he is leaving the post of director general of Ukroboronprom, the state joint-stock company that groups roughly 100 enterprises producing missiles, drones, armored vehicles, and ammunition. The resignation follows the Vyshneve tragedy.
The depot belonged to one of Ukroboronprom's enterprises. Russia fired the missile, but the depot should not have been where it was.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on 11 July that the directors of two state enterprises had stored weapons and ammunition next to residential buildings in defiance of both the law and a decision of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief's Staff.
"There was a direct ban on this — both under the law and under the Staff's decision — and all of it was violated," Zelenskyy stressed.
Ukroboronprom fired two enterprise directors before its chief left
After the tragedy, Ukroboronprom dismissed the heads of two state enterprises, along with other officials whose action or inaction may have caused the grave consequences, according to UNIAN. The company said all those responsible would bear criminal liability under Ukrainian law. The SBU has identified the officials who allowed the storage to take place.
Zelenskyy signaled the accountability would not stop at the enterprise level.
"It is a large structure, it includes dozens of enterprises, one of which is situated at that depot in Vyshneve," he said.
Days later, the person at the top of that structure was gone.
Smetanin led Ukroboronprom twice
Smetanin had headed Ukroboronprom on two separate occasions. He was first appointed director general of the joint-stock company on 28 June 2023. From 5 September 2024 to 17 July 2025, he served as Ukraine's Minister for Strategic Industries. In July 2025, he returned to Ukroboronprom as acting head, and in August 2025, he took charge of the defense-industrial group for the second time.
His exit leaves Ukroboronprom without a director general at a moment when Ukraine's defense industry is scaling faster than at any point in the war.
Vyshneve strike was part of Russia's largest attack on Kyiv in months
The depot detonation did not happen in isolation. Russia struck Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast with a massive combined barrage overnight on 6 July, firing 68 missiles and 351 drones, including 23 Iskander-M and S-400 ballistic missiles and six Zircon or Oniks missiles. Air defenses downed 363 of 419 targets, but not one ballistic or Zircon missile was intercepted. The attack killed 11 people in Kyiv.
