Zelenskiy endorses energy boss as new Ukrainian PM
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has approved the head of the state energy company as Ukraine’s new prime minister, but has not given a clear answer about the future of the defense minister at a crucial point in the war.
Zelenskiy dismissed Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko this week after just a year in office.
Parliament accepted his resignation on Tuesday and is expected to vote on his successor on Thursday.
Zelenskiy has made little statement about the move so far, other than saying the goal is to renew the leadership.
Speaking to reporters in Kiev, Zelenskiy said that Sergii Koretskyi, general manager of the state-owned energy company Naftogaz, is the best candidate for the post of prime minister because Ukraine’s priority is to prepare for the upcoming winter.
Parliament elects the prime minister and will likely accept Zelenskiy’s preferred candidate since his party holds the majority.
“The priorities are clear: preparing for winter,” Zelenskiy said.
“Therefore, after all consultations, Sergii Koretskyi is definitely the most prepared candidate for the post of prime minister of Ukraine.”
The resignation of the prime minister will automatically trigger the resignation of the entire cabinet, meaning a broader shake-up is expected.
At a time when the tide on the battlefield is turning in Ukraine’s favor and Russia is waging a campaign of long-range drone strikes, attention has turned to the fate of Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.
Fedorov, 35, is a supporter of technological innovations coming from outside the defense ministry and took office there six months ago.
Asked whether Fedorov would retain his post as defense minister in the new cabinet, Zelenskiy said he would meet with Fedorov and army leaders later Wednesday before a planned meeting with ruling party lawmakers.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military said on Wednesday that it had hit a power plant in Sevastopol, a city in Russian-occupied Crimea that provides about 50 percent of the peninsula’s electricity production.
Ukrainian Special Operations Forces said on Telegram that the Balaklava thermal power plant was hit on Tuesday night.
