
Zelenskiy Promotes Allies Who've Shown They Can Deal With Trump
The new prime minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, took office 11 weeks after her team at the Economy Ministry secured a deal with the US over access to Ukraine's natural resources.
That agreement, which gave Trump a win in an otherwise fruitless effort to end Russia's war on Ukraine, came together after weeks of grinding negotiations. Svyrydenko, who took the lead on the talks in the weeks after Zelenskiy was upbraided by Trump and his team in the Oval Office, rushed to Washington at the end of April to sign the deal.
Zelenskiy had been deliberating replacing long-time premier Denys Shmyhal with Svyrydenko, a 39-year-old former presidential aide, since last year, according to people familiar with his thinking. Her role in the stormy negotiations with the Americans clinched his decision to make the change, the people said, on condition of anonymity.
The reshuffle coincides with an about-face in the US administration, with Trump — who had for months belittled Ukraine's wartime leader — turning his ire on Vladimir Putin. The US leader has grown frustrated with the Russian president's refusal to entertain a ceasefire.
That turn culminated this week in Trump's threat to impose stiff tariffs on Moscow and pledge to send fresh weapons to Kyiv — though relying on funding from NATO's European allies.
With uncertainty over how long the Trump turn may last, the Ukrainian government has moved quickly to align with the more favorable circumstances.
Svyrydenko's efforts on the resources deal helped turn around what had been a potentially dire ultimatum for Kyiv. Volodymyr Fesenko, head of the Penta Research Institute in Kyiv, said initial US demands that would effectively make Kyiv permanently indebted to Washington were 'neutralized.'
When the then-economy minister jumped on a plane to Washington, a framework agreement was to be followed by a range of technical accords. In mid-air, Svyrydenko's team was informed the Americans wanted to sign all simultaneously as an overall agreement.
A deal was reached, covering resources including oil and gas, graphite and aluminum, just as Trump marked his first 100 days in office. One advantage was her good rapport with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, one of the people said.
'Svyrydenko managed to avoid risks in the resources deal and proved herself successful as a negotiator,' Fesenko said in an interview, sealing her path to the premiership.
Her promotion aligns with Zelenskiy's long-standing penchant — one that's invited criticism — for empowering loyalists at the expense of others outside the circle of the president and his powerful top aide, Andriy Yermak. Svyrydenko climbed the ranks from state administration in the Chernihiv region to high office in Kyiv. As economy minister, she was first deputy prime minister until this week.
Svyrydenko was the only candidate Zelenskiy was considering for the new premier after he observed her work in the government, a person said. She proved her ability to tackle Ukraine's biggest challenges of securing more financing and to boost economic growth during her time at the Economy Ministry, the person said.
Alongside the new premier, several others involved in the resources accord were promoted. Former Deputy Economy Minister Taras Kachka was appointed as Svyrydenko's deputy to oversee European Union integration.
And while Zelenskiy initially considered his defense chief, Rustem Umerov, as ambassador to the US, he ultimately chose former deputy premier and Justice Minister Olha Stefanishyna. She was part of multiple delegations to the US during talks over resources and is well-known in Washington, a person said.
'The American track is very important, and we have at least three axes of cooperation — the resources fund, the trade deal, and the weapons agreement,' Svyrydenko told reporters in Kyiv on Friday.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)

Business Standard
14 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Russia suspends sunflower oil duty till end of August to boost exports
Russia, one of the world's top producers and exporters of sunflower oil, on Friday suspended floating duty rates on sunflower oil and sunflower meal until August 31 to boost exports and help local producers. The export duty was introduced in 2021 in order to protect the domestic market from price spikes and was set at 4,739 roubles ($59.61) per ton of sunflower oil in July. "At present, the domestic market is fully supplied with sunflower oil. Therefore, the suspension will not affect the availability of sunflower oil for Russians," the government said in a statement. According to the US Department of Agriculture, Russia and Ukraine produce over half of the world’s sunflower seeds and are responsible for nearly three-quarters of total sunflower oil and meal exports. IKAR consultancy head Dmitry Rylko estimated that Russia exported 4.7 million tons of sunflower oil in the 2024/25 season, which will end on August 31, compared with a record 5.3 million tons in the previous season. "We expect some revival in exports," Rylko told Reuters. He estimated that Russia will export 350,000 tons in August. IKAR forecasts this year's sunflower seed harvest at no less than a record 18 million tons. Russian lobby group Oil and Fat Union estimates that Russia is the world's leading producer of sunflower oil and the second largest exporter after Ukraine. Russia exports sunflower oil to India, Turkey, Iran, China and Egypt. It exports sunflower meal, used in animal feed, to Turkey, Belarus, China and the European Union. Russia's sunflower oil production became unprofitable in 2024 due to rising domestic prices for seeds. Several plants across Russia stopped operations as a result. Exports fell by 38 per cent in the first half of 2025, according to customs data, which does not take into account trade with sanctioned countries such as Iran. Head of the Oil and Fat Union Mikhail Maltsev said that the duty suspension for the remainder of the season will help exporters clear their stockpiles. "In the new season, we hope the market will stabilise and that procurement prices for sunflower seeds will once again make exports economically viable for processing plants," Maltsev said.

Hindustan Times
14 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
‘I never went to that island': Trump makes big statement amid Epstein allegations, points finger at Bill Clinton
President Donald Trump vehemently urged media outlets to stop investigating his suspected ties to late pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein and instead focus on accusations against one of his predecessors. FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump gestures while boarding Air Force One, as he departs for Scotland, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S., July 25, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo(REUTERS) Trump spoke to reporters while leaving the White House for a trip to Scotland, where he owns three golf estates. When reporters questioned him about the Epstein Files, the US President again rejected the allegations of his involvement in the Epstein Files and blamed Bill Clinton. He even claimed that he never went to Epstein's private island Little St. James. 'You ought to be talking about Bill Clinton. Who went to the island 28 times. I never went to the island.' In response to a reporter's question about whether he wrote a letter to Epstein, Trump stated that he has no idea what they are talking about. 'Now, anybody could have written the letter and used my name. That's happened a lot.' Also Read: JD Vance slams WSJ for 'hit piece' on Trump, accuses it of 'acting like a Democrat SuperPAC' 'I'll give you a list': Trump tells reporters Todd Blanche, the president's former criminal defense lawyer who is presently the deputy attorney general, has been meeting with Epstein's convicted sex trafficker associate and girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year jail sentence in Florida for grooming young women and girls for sex trafficker Epstein. Blanche has interviewed Trump's associate in an attempt to calm Trump's supporters ire over the denial of records from Epstein's case. The President further stated that he did not have much idea about Maxwell's talks with Blanche, adding that he trusts him as a 'professional lawyer'. 'You know, you should focus on Clinton. You should focus on the president of Harvard, the former president of Harvard. He should focus on some of the hedge fund guys — I'll give you a list,' Trump said. He later stated that although he is 'allowed' to pardon Maxwell, he hasn't given it any thought. 'I'm allowed to do it, but it's something I haven't thought about.' Earlier this month, Trump dismissed that his name was mentioned in the documents. He further claimed that former presidents Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and James Comey, the former head of the FBI, 'made up' the Epstein Files.


Indian Express
14 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Trump says chances of EU trade deal are ‘50-50 or less'
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that the United States has a '50-50 chance' or possibly even less of reaching a trade deal with the European Union, although he believes the EU wants an agreement. 'We're working very diligently with Europe, the EU,' Trump told reporters as he left the White House for a trip to Scotland. 'I would say that we have a 50-50 chance, maybe less than that, but a 50-50 chance of making a deal with the EU.' When asked again, he said, 'That's the big one right now … I think the EU has a pretty good chance of making a deal right now,' according to Reuters. The European Commission said on Thursday that a deal with the US was still possible, even as EU countries approved counter-tariffs on €93 billion (about $109 billion) worth of American goods if negotiations break down. The EU's main goal is to avoid the 30% import tariffs that Trump has said will take effect on 1 August if talks do not succeed. Trump said the EU would have to 'buy down' the tariff rate, though he did not give any details. Some EU diplomats believe a deal might involve a 15% tariff on EU goods entering the US, similar to an agreement the US reached with Japan. But the White House said such reports were speculative. The trade deal between the United States and Japan, announced earlier this week by Trump, may already be facing difficulties, with reports on Friday indicating disagreements over how to divide profits from Japan's planned $550 billion investment in the US. The deal includes a 15% reciprocal tariff on imported goods and was presented by Trump as a model for future trade agreements. But according to Reuters, Japan is pushing for profit-sharing based on investment contribution, while the US wants to retain 90% of the returns. Despite the tension, the agreement may have set a new benchmark for Washington's trade policy. Trump has said tariff rates will now range between 15% and 50%, with tougher trading partners facing the higher end of that scale. His 'Liberation Day' tariff plan in April had initially set a 10% base rate on all US trade partners. As part of his broader trade strategy, Trump said on Friday that formal letters detailing tariff rates for over 200 countries would be issued soon. He added that his administration was pushing to finalise trade agreements with key partners, including the European Union, India, and Canada. 'We haven't had a lot of luck with Canada,' Trump said, suggesting the US might go ahead with 35% tariffs on Canadian goods not covered by the USMCA trade deal, as reported by Fox news. Trump also said that talks with China were progressing. 'We have the confines of a deal,' he said, adding that US and Chinese negotiators are expected to meet again next week. Trump's trade adviser Peter Navarro told Bloomberg News that the EU's statements 'should be taken with a grain of salt'. It is not yet clear what the EU is willing to offer. One EU diplomat told Reuters that, unlike Japan, the bloc is not looking at promising investment in the US as part of the deal.