Natalia Kalmykova

Natalia Kalmykova
Наталія Калмикова
Kalmykova in 2024
Minister of Veterans Affairs
In office
5 September 2024 – 16 July 2026
PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy
Prime MinisterDenys Shmyhal
Yulia Svyrydenko
Preceded byOleksandr Porkhun (acting)
Succeeded byVitalii Kim
Personal details
Born (1982-02-04) 4 February 1982
PartyIndependent

Natalia Fernandivna Kalmykova (Ukrainian: Наталія Фернандівна Калмикова; born 4 February 1982) is a Ukrainian politician who served as Minister of Veterans Affairs between 2024 and 2026.[1][2] From 2023 to 2024, she served as Deputy Minister of Defense.[3] From 2018 to 2021, she served as manager of Come Back Alive.[4]

Early life

Kalmykova was born on 4 February 1982 in Vinnytsia, then part of the Ukrainian SSR.[5] Her father is Cuban and studied in the Soviet Union where he met her mother.[6] From 1999 to 2005, she studied at the National Pirogov Memorial Medical University.[3] In addition to her degree from the medical university, she also studied at MIM-Kyiv Business School and was a Fulbright scholar at the University at Buffalo.[3] During her time in the United States she also engaged in research at Syracuse University on female leadership in militaries.[3] She returned briefly to study starting in 2019 at the Vinnytsia Academy of Continuing Education, where she was awarded a Master of Public Administration.[7]

From 2005 to 2012, she worked as an intern at the Vinnytsia City Emergency Hospital.[7] In addition, from 2007 to 2008 she worked as a part-time medical consultant for Alcon Pharmaceuticals and from 2008 to 2012 she was a marketing consultant for Delta Medical.[7] She returned to Delta Medical from 2014 to 2017.[7]

Career

In 2021, she became gender adviser to the Commander of the Ground Forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi.[7] In February 2022, she started serving as head of the Ukrainian Veterans Fund.[6]

From 2023 to 2024 she served as Deputy Minister of Defense.[3] She stated that as deputy minister, she helped create a simplified procedure for writing off military medical property, which helped provide the army with first-aid kits.[8]

References

  1. ↑ "Verkhovna Rada appoints Natalia Kalmykova Minister of Veterans Affairs". Ukrainian National News. 5 September 2024.
  2. ↑ "Рада затвердила новий склад уряду без очільників Міноборони та МЗС. Ось хто у списку (ДОПОВНЕНО)". Hromadske. 16 July 2026. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Natalia Kalmykova". Ministry for Veterans Affairs. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
  4. ↑ "Verkhovna Rada appoints Kalmykova as Minister of Veterans Affairs". Interfax-Ukraine. 5 September 2024.
  5. ↑ "Новим головою Мінветеранів може стати заступниця міністра оборони, - джерело". РБК-Украина (in Ukrainian). 4 September 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
  6. 1 2 "«Для мене перемога — це не фініш, це — старт». Виконавча директорка Українського ветеранського фонду Наталія Калмикова". Elle (in Ukrainian). 15 November 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 "Волонтерка з кубинським корінням і радниця Сирського: біографія Наталії Калмикової". 24 Канал (in Ukrainian). 5 September 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
  8. ↑ Кліщук, Людмила (5 September 2024). "Калмикова відзвітувала про майже рік на посаді в МОУ: список змін". Novynarnia (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 17 April 2025.