Rustem Umerov speaks in the Ukrainian parliament during voting in favor of his nomination as the Ukrainian defense minister in Kyiv, Sept 6, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP)

KYIV - The Ukrainian parliament on Wednesday approved legislation to appoint Rustem Umerov as the country's new defense minister, lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak said.

Umerov's nomination, which was submitted by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, was supported by 338 lawmakers in the 450-seat assembly, Zheleznyak said in a post on Telegram.

Rustem Umerov, 41, served as the head of Ukraine's main privatization fund between September 2022 and September 2023

Umerov, 41, served as the head of the country's main privatization fund between September 2022 and September 2023.

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Separately, Ukraine's foreign exchange reserves shrank for the first time in six months in August, data from the country's central bank showed on Wednesday.

In August, the international reserves decreased by 3.2 percent to about $40.4 billion on the back of foreign currency sales, the National Bank of Ukraine said in a statement.

The NBU sold about 2.454 billion dollars on the currency market last month to cover the market's gap between supply and demand.

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Since the beginning of the year, Ukraine's foreign reserves have increased by 41.7 percent, or 11.893 billion dollars.