Ukraine awaits new government after PM’s dismissal
Ukrainian lawmakers are set to vote for another government after the president sacked his prime minister in a move he said would bring new thinking but critics warned could fuel turmoil at a key point in the war.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy made a shocking announcement on Sunday that he would succeed Yulia Svyrydenko after just a year in office, sparking speculation about who would take the top spot at a time when Ukraine faces intense Russian attacks.
Lawmakers posted on social media that candidates to replace Svyrydenko include Serhiy Koretskyi, head of state oil and gas company Naftogaz; Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal, who previously served as defense minister for six months; and current Minister of Defense Mykhailo Fedorov.
After announcing Svyrydenko’s dismissal, Zelenskiy published photos of his conversations with each of them.
Under the Ukrainian system, a prime minister will propose a prime minister who selects most of the other cabinet members.
They all need to be approved by parliament.
The president said Sunday that he was seeking “renewal” at the top of government and law enforcement to bolster the country’s quest for greater air defenses from allies, support its bid for European Union membership and prepare for Russia’s winter attacks on the power grid.
The appointment of Naftogaz chief Koretskyi, seen by many as the best candidate, would put a respected technocrat at the head of a government that will increasingly focus on bolstering energy security following Russian attacks on infrastructure that regularly plunge towns and cities into cold and darkness.
Political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko said other crisis managers with similar experience could also serve in the cabinet, such as Ihor Terekhov, the mayor of Kharkiv, whose city has been subject to frequent Russian attacks.
Defense Minister Fedorov was another strong candidate who was already at the center of Ukraine’s war effort.
But Fesenko, of the Penta Center think tank, said stripping Fedorov of his defense portfolio could undermine critical army reforms at a time when Ukraine is struggling to gain the upper hand in its war with Russia; This concern was also expressed by some opposition MPs.
Ukraine is waging a long-term offensive campaign that is damaging Russia’s oil sector and battlefield logistics.
Today, we started the founding meeting of our anti-ballistic coalition in France. I hope that the FREJYA project will be successful and strengthen our anti-ballistic defense. I invite everyone who is interested and can contribute to our joint work to join us. Here’s how we need to act… pic.twitter.com/9DEU8VwTmR— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 13, 2026
Fedorov, who has overseen the military’s technological development since his appointment in January, has also promised to overhaul military recruitment.
Opposition lawmaker Inna Sovsun from the Holos party said she was “very afraid” of the potential for new instability in the defense ministry.
“Previously, Denys Shmyhal was a minister for half a year, made a promise, began to fulfill it and was fired,” he said on Facebook.
“If the same story is repeated with Mykhailo Fedorov, it will not be funny at all.”
The parliamentary procedure to form a government could start on Tuesday.
Public trust in Zelenskiy remained relatively stable at around 60 percent last year, according to the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology.
The changes are one of several political tools to overhaul the leadership available to Zelenskiy at a time when elections are banned by martial law.
Opposition lawmaker Dmytro Razumkov, a former speaker of parliament under Zelenskiy, told Reuters that the president’s “Sunday blitzkrieg” was unlikely to lead to positive changes.
Zelenskiy echoed popular criticism of his administration: It relies on a small circle of loyalists.
“This will…most likely be just swapping the same faces and moving the beds around the house.”
Zelenskiy said Ukraine and nine other countries had formed a coalition to protect the continent from ballistic missiles, drawing on Ukraine’s experience in fighting against Russia’s far-reaching occupation for more than four years.
In their statement in Paris, 10 countries said, “Our goal is to create a common ballistic missile defense capability for Europe.” he said.
Zelenskiy and the leaders of Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom said they were aware of the “growing threat posed by ballistic missiles.”
with AP
