Stepan Tymofiyovych Poltorak is a Ukrainian general who served as the Minister of Defence of Ukraine from 14 October 2014 until 29 August 2019. Previously he was the commander of the Internal Troops of Ukraine and National Guard of Ukraine. Poltorak's rank was General of the army of Ukraine. From 1 January 2019, Poltorak remained the country's defense minister as a civilian, after resigning from military service in October 2018. Poltorak resigned at the request of newly inaugurated president Volodymyr Zelensky on 20 May 2019.

The Internal Troops of Ukraine, abbreviated ВВ (VV), were a uniformed gendarmerie and Internal Troops in Ukraine which merged with the National Guard of Ukraine on March 13, 2014. They were subordinate to the Chief Directorate of Ministry of Internal Affairs, and cooperate with the State Emergency Service of Ukraine. The VV were used to assist militsiya in policing, deal with riots and internal armed conflicts, and safeguard important facilities such as nuclear power plants. In wartime, the Internal Troops were under the jurisdiction of the Ukrainian armed forces for local defense and rear area security.