Ukraine is heading into a major government reshuffle. On Sunday, July 12, 2026, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced a renewal of the Cabinet of Ministers, and Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko confirmed she will step down after almost a year in office. Parliament could vote on her dismissal within days.

“Ukraine is changing its political strategy,” Zelenskyy wrote in a lengthy post on Telegram. He said he had discussed the plan with Svyrydenko and that “we agreed that implementing these changes requires a renewal of the Cabinet of Ministers.” He also promised changes at the top of several law enforcement agencies.

A strategy built around weapons and partners

The shake-up comes amid growing frustration in Kyiv that Western weapons pledges are arriving far more slowly than Russian missiles. In his evening address the day before, Zelenskyy said personnel changes were coming on the diplomatic front because agreed weapons support was being delivered too slowly.

Under the new approach, a specific, experienced official will be responsible for each priority area. Zelenskyy listed relations with the United States and a deal to produce Patriot air defense systems under license, a European anti-ballistic missile project, Ukraine’s bid to join the European Union, relations with Poland and Hungary, closer ties with the Gulf states, and preparations for winter, when Russian attacks on energy infrastructure are expected to intensify.

Svyrydenko: “Ready to continue serving”

Svyrydenko, 39, has led the government since July 17, 2025, when she succeeded Denys Shmyhal. As first deputy prime minister and economy minister before that, she worked closely with the Trump administration and was widely credited with negotiating the critical minerals agreement between Washington and Kyiv, which helped ease tensions between the two presidents.

“I am proud to have had the honour of leading the Government,” she wrote on X, thanking Ukraine’s defenders and saying she is “ready to continue serving the Ukrainian state.” Zelenskyy thanked her and offered her “a new significant direction in relations with a key partner.” Several lawmakers said she could become Ukraine’s ambassador to Washington, although no post has been officially announced.

Who could be the next prime minister?

According to members of parliament, four names are in the running:

  • Serhii Koretskyi, head of Naftogaz and Ukrnafta
  • Denys Shmyhal, first vice prime minister and energy minister
  • Mykhailo Fedorov, defense minister
  • Ihor Terekhov, mayor of Kharkiv

Opposition MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak called Koretskyi the favorite, a view shared by sources cited by RBC-Ukraine, including some in the President’s Office. Koretskyi took over the loss-making Ukrnafta in 2022 and turned it into one of the country’s most profitable companies, then became head of Naftogaz in the spring of 2025, steering it through a harsh winter with gas storage nearly empty. If appointed, he would be Ukraine’s third prime minister since the full-scale invasion began.

Zelenskyy also published reports of one-on-one meetings with Koretskyi, Shmyhal, Fedorov, Terekhov and Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, praising each official’s results.

What happens next

Zheleznyak said the Verkhovna Rada could vote to dismiss the prime minister as early as July 13 or 14. The government would then work in an acting capacity, most likely under Shmyhal’s interim leadership, until parliament approves a new cabinet.

Sources

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