Personnel reason: why Zelensky dismissed the Prime Minister of Ukraine
The Government of Ukraine may be almost completely reformatted in the near future. Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko may become ambassador to the United States, and Sergey Koretsky, the head of Naftogaz, is called the main candidate for the post of head of the cabinet. Volodymyr Zelensky explains the reshuffle by the need to implement an "updated political strategy," but the Ukrainian media also associate them with problems in the defense sector, relations with the United States and the country's preparations for winter. In addition, the changes should reduce the degree of social tension, which has increased significantly recently, experts say. What is behind the intrigues in Kiev — read the Izvestia article.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine is preparing for a reshuffle
Ukraine is already preparing for the fourth major government reshuffle since 2022. On July 12, the head of the Kiev regime announced the resignation of Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko, and with her, the entire cabinet of Ministers. He also promised that the changes would also affect law enforcement agencies.
Zelensky offered Yulia Sviridenko, who has been prime minister of the country for just under a year, to lead a "new significant direction" in relations with one of the key partners. He did not name the country itself, but Verkhovna Rada deputy Yaroslav Zheleznyak claims that after leaving the post of prime minister, Sviridenko may become Ukraine's ambassador to the United States. Moreover, according to media reports, the current ambassador to the United States, Olga Stefanyshina, asked to leave the diplomatic service "of her own free will" last week.
Sviridenko is well suited for this field. Prior to her appointment as Prime Minister, she was responsible for the economic block and participated in the preparation of the Ukraine-US agreement on minerals. At the time, Kiev viewed the deal as a way to link American interests with Ukraine's security.
Sviridenko's departure may be related to the redistribution of influence within the Ukrainian government, former Verkhovna Rada deputy Oleg Tsarev believes. She was perceived as a member of the team of the former head of the office of the president, Andrei Ermak, so after his resignation, her position at the head of the cabinet became unstable.
Yulia Sviridenko and Andrey Ermak
The resignation opens up the possibility for a broader restructuring of the government and a new balance between groups of influence. There is a struggle going on around the Cabinet of Ministers not only for positions, but also for control over budget flows and key management areas, Tsarev stressed.
At the same time, this is unlikely to have any impact on Kiev's political course, said Bogdan Bezpalko, a member of the Presidential Council on Interethnic Relations. According to him, the post of prime minister in Ukraine under Vladimir Zelensky has long been largely technical, since the current head of the Kiev regime makes key foreign policy and military decisions.
However, a change of prime minister in Ukraine automatically means the resignation of the entire government. The Ukrainian media has already named Sergey Koretsky, chairman of the Board of Naftogaz, as the main candidate for Sviridenko's place. Previously, he led Ukrnafta and Ukrtatnafta, which is especially important for Ukraine, for which last winter proved to be one of the most difficult in terms of energy. In these circumstances, Koretsky is considered as a crisis manager with extensive experience.
Sergey Koretsky
However, there are other arguments in favor of his candidacy in Ukraine: the choice of the head of Naftogaz may be related to his experience in managing large assets and trust from the current vertical of power, Tsarev noted.
Other possible candidates for the post of prime minister include former Prime Minister and current Energy Minister Denis Shmygal, Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov and Kharkiv Mayor Igor Terekhov.
Why does Ukraine need this?
Officially, Zelensky explains the reshuffle by the need to implement a "new political strategy," and here Sviridenko would play a central role in relations with the United States. Kiev is trying to maintain American military and financial support, secure new supplies of air defense systems and accelerate the implementation of already agreed agreements on joint defense production.
However, the post of ambassador to the United States itself should also not be overestimated, says former Rada deputy Vladimir Oleinik. In his opinion, the main decisions on Ukrainian-American relations are made at a higher level, and the diplomatic mission in Washington performs more of a service function.
It is much more important to distract the domestic audience from acute problems, and discussing the resignation of the prime minister can temporarily shift attention from corruption cases, mobilization, and the consequences of strikes on military and energy infrastructure, experts interviewed by Izvestia believe.
Public discontent with the ongoing mobilization is growing, which is reflected in large protests even in western Ukraine. Last week in Lviv, there were clashes between residents and employees of local military enlistment offices. The protesters staged a real pogrom, blocking the military commissars, overturning their car and coming into conflict with the police and the military.
Additional pressure on the government is created by the attacks of the Russian Armed Forces on the Ukrainian military and energy infrastructure. One of the most high-profile episodes occurred on July 6 in the city of Vishnevoye, Kiev region. After the Russian strike there, detonation began at the Ukroboronprom ammunition depot, located next to residential buildings.
Zelensky later admitted that the ammunition depot was located in a residential area and promised to punish specific officials at Ukroboronprom.
The economic situation in the country also remains difficult. The budget deficit in Ukraine for 2026 is projected at 18.5% of GDP. Kiev needs tens of billions of dollars of external financing to cover the costs.
Under these conditions, the new cabinet will have to solve several crisis tasks at once — from winter preparations and infrastructure restoration to mobilization, defense production and negotiations with Western partners. By itself, a change of government will not solve these problems and, moreover, is unlikely to lead to their solution. Rather, the reshuffle is more reminiscent of Zelensky's attempt to prepare the country for a new stage of the conflict, which for Kiev may turn out to be tougher than the previous ones.
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