Zelenskiy overhauls Ukraine's cabinet as PM Svyrydenko steps down; Naftogaz chief, defence minister among five contenders

The prime minister departs

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced on Sunday that Ukraine is changing its political strategy, a shift he said requires a renewal of the government. At the centre of the overhaul is Iulia Svyrydenko, who will leave the premiership after just under one year in office. Zelenskiy said he had offered her a new role leading an important direction in relations with a key international partner, without naming the country.

I am grateful to Iulia for her transparent, consistent and effective work as prime minister, for years of productive activity within the Ukraine team, and I offered her the opportunity to lead a new and important domain of relations with a key partner.

Svyrydenko, a former economy minister, took office on 17 July 2025 at age 39 after playing a central role in concluding a mineral-resources agreement between Ukraine and the United States. Opposition MP Iaroslav Jelezniak said she is likely to become ambassador to Washington. In her own statement she confirmed the restructuring and said she is ready to continue serving Ukraine's national interests on the diplomatic front.

The five officials in the room

Zelenskiy received the officials one by one after his meeting with Svyrydenko, posting readouts on social media. The group included Serhii Koretskyi, chairman of the board of state energy giant Naftogaz; Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal, who was prime minister from 2020 to 2025; Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko; Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov; and Kharkiv mayor Ihor Terekhov. Each is regarded as a potential successor, with Ukrainian media describing Koretskyi as a frontrunner.

With Koretskyi, the president reviewed the performance of Naftogaz and Ukrnafta, praising the executive for ensuring national interests were respected in a sector where numerous interests intersect. Shmyhal discussed the need for new and more decisive measures to protect energy facilities and strategic infrastructure across the country’s territory. Klymenko’s conversation covered urgent challenges facing the state and additional resources to meet them. Fedorov presented the status of defence projects and the need for new international agreements, while Terekhov briefed on conditions in Ukraine’s second-largest city, which remains under constant Russian bombardment.

What the new cabinet must deliver

Zelenskiy outlined a set of domestic and foreign-policy priorities for the incoming government. On the home front, the team must accelerate support for front-line and border regions, increase the supply of weapons and drones to Ukrainian forces, and prepare the country for the winter season. It must also speed up the transformation of state-owned companies and implement reconstruction agreements already signed with international partners.

At this moment new and more decisive measures are needed to protect the energy sector and strategic infrastructure objects across the entire territory of Ukraine.

On foreign policy, the president is breaking the portfolio into dedicated lanes, each with a named official. The priority list includes the US relationship and a Patriot air-defence manufacturing deal, a project for a new European air-defence system, EU accession talks, and normalisation of ties with Poland and Hungary. Additional lanes cover the Middle East and Gulf region, dialogue with China, and cooperation with major international organisations.

A year of Svyrydenko at the helm

Svyrydenko’s tenure lasted from 17 July 2025 to 12 July 2026. She inherited a government wrestling with the demands of a full-scale war and shepherded a mineral-resources accord with the United States. In her final hours in the post she described the moment as one where it is extremely important to unite all forces and resources to make Ukraine stronger.

Right now it is extremely important to unite all our forces and resources to make Ukraine stronger.

Her expected move to Washington would place a seasoned negotiator in a capital that Kyiv views as its most critical bilateral partner.

Next steps in parliament

No candidate has been formally nominated yet. Zelenskiy said he expects to work with deputies to carry out the corresponding changes in the government, and that personnel moves will also extend to the heads of law-enforcement agencies. The president’s schedule suggests the nomination could be decided within days, with parliamentary approval to follow soon after.