Zelenskyy to swap prime ministers in refresh to government

Miami Herald

14-07-2025

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he'll replace his prime minister in a Cabinet overhaul as the nation seeks to boost weapons production and maintain U.S. support in its war against Russia.
Yulia Svyrydenko, a deputy premier who took the lead in coordinating a landmark minerals deal with President Donald Trump's administration, was nominated to replace Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. Ukraine's longest-serving head of government, Shmyhal took office in 2020 and has led the Cabinet for the duration of Russia's war.
Zelenskyy met with Svyrydenko, 39, on Monday to discuss "concrete measures to boost Ukraine's economic potential, expand support programs for Ukrainians, and scale up our domestic weapons production," Zelenskyy said in a social media post on X. He proposed that she "significantly renew" the work of the government.
The Ukrainian president hinted at a Cabinet overhaul last week during a meeting with allies in Rome. That gathering stoked optimism about U.S. military aid, with Trump expected to send more Patriot air-defense batteries to Kyiv as part of a shift to a more confrontational stance toward the Kremlin.
Svyrydenko, a former aide in Zelenskyy's office who has climbed the ranks from state administration in the Chernihiv region to high office in Kyiv, has long been subject of speculation as Shmyhal's replacement.
She would become Ukraine's second female prime minister after Yulia Tymoshenko, who led the government in the years after the 2004 Orange Revolution. Ukraine's parliament would need to confirm the nomination before Svyrydenko takes office.
Shmyhal and his Cabinet has come under criticism from Zelenskyy for not focusing fully on the battlefield last year, while public criticism has focused on a lack of independence. The level of trust in the Cabinet is low, along with that of the parliament and courts, polls have shown.
The reshuffle conforms with Zelenskyy's preference to fill top positions with loyalists from his inner circle. His appointment of Andrii Sybiha as foreign minister last year was part of that pattern. He worked under chief-of-staff Andriy Yermak in the first two years of the war.
Maintaining his grip
Yuriy Yakymenko, president at the Razumkov Centre think tank, said major policy changes were unlikely - and that Zelenskyy's grip over Ukraine's wartime politics will be maintained.
"The president's influence on the government remains - and it will remain in this configuration," Yakymenko said by phone.
Zelenskyy weighed in on potential changes in Italy on Thursday, saying that he may appoint Defense Minister Rustem Umerov as his new envoy to the U.S. as part of a "serious reshuffle" of the Cabinet.
Shmyhal, along with another deputy premier, Olha Stefanishyna, were among candidates to replace Oksana Markarova as Ukraine's ambassador to Washington, according to people familiar with the matter.
Svyrydenko has a master's degree in antitrust regulation from Kyiv National University of Trade and Economics and worked in the private sector until 2015, when she entered state government roles in Chernihiv - and led the region in the second half of 2018.
She advanced to Cabinet roles in Kyiv under Zelenskyy, as deputy minister overseeing development, trade and agriculture - then as deputy head of office in the presidential office. She's held her current post, overseeing economic policy, since November 2021.
An avid classical pianist, Svyrydenko is prized by Zelenskyy for following through with orders. On a panel at a conference in Kyiv last month, an attendee asked her whether she knew her nickname from those in the business community.
"Top of the class," the attendee said.
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