Crimea War: Ukraine fires defense minister for losing the peninsular to Russia, replace him with Gen. Mykhaylo Koval,

The Ukraine defense minister, Igor Tenyukh, who was accused of being indecisive and slow to give orders to Ukrainian military units in Crimea, submitted his resignation to Ukrainian parliament Tuesday.

Russian troops humiliated the Ukrainian forces out of Crimea region. 

Putin's army overran all the naval base controlled by the Ukraine forces. This has resulted in much more criticism of the Ukraine defense minister, as he was accused of been too weak and responsible for the Ukraine humiliations and lost of Crimea Peninsula to Russian Putin.

Ukraine government has replaced him with Gen. Mykhaylo Koval, who previously served with the border guards in Crimea and was briefly kidnapped there this month.

Andriy Parubiy, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, said in an interview Tuesday that mistakes have been and will be made, but the new government is not afraid to fix them.

“Now is the time to speak the truth to society,” he said. “This is the only way to make this government stronger.”

The sacking of the defense minister is a major test of a new government trying to recover from defeat at Russia’s hands in Crimea while attempting to project enough self-confidence to win the people’s trust.

Parubiy said extraordinary strength is required, because President Vladi­mir Putin wants nothing more than to take all of Ukraine. “His goal is to delegitimize the government,” he said.

Reacting to the sackng of the defense minister, an independent member of parliament, Yuriy Derevyanko said “We are at war, and we need someone decisive who can act quickly in extreme situations,”

“We felt there had to be a change, but it’s better not to criticize in times like this. Everyone has to be united.”

The parliament was elected in fall 2012, in a vote considered flawed, favoring then-President Viktor Yanukovych’s Party of Regions.

“We don’t feel we have the nation’s support,” Derevyanko said. “And we have little time.”

Moscow had prepared an operation code-named Russian Spring, he said, mobilizing agents in southeastern Ukraine to stir up disorder, take over government buildings and then appeal to Russia for help, much as it did in Crimea. Russia has moved 100,000 well-equipped and trained troops to the Ukrainian border, he said.

“We have to be ready for anything,” Parubiy said.

Kiev has in recent days deployed more troops and police, tightening up the border and arresting provocateurs, he said. In the eastern cities of Donetsk and Kharkiv, he sad, disorderly crowds have diminished and security has improved.