Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Sunday, 12 July, that he had proposed the dismissal of Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko. This opens the way for a reconstruction of the entire Ukrainian government.
The decision was announced on the social media platform X, Reuters reports. "I am grateful to Yulia for her clear, dedicated and efficient work as Prime Minister and for her years of productive service in the Ukrainian team. I have offered her to lead a new and important area of relations with one key partner," Zelensky wrote, without revealing which post was involved.
He added that he expects to carry out appropriate changes in the composition of the government together with parliamentarians. As a reason, he cited the need to "ensure the implementation of an updated political strategy". No further clarifications were offered at this time.
The successor to the Prime Minister is not yet known. Zelensky did not specify which function Sviridenko should assume, and announced that changes are also expected at the top positions of security services and law enforcement bodies.
Opposition MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak assessed that Sviridenko will probably assume the post of ambassador to the United States of America. "This means she is leaving the post of Prime Minister and the entire government will be reconstructed," Zheleznyak wrote on Telegram.
Under Ukrainian law, the Prime Minister's resignation is confirmed by parliament. Its acceptance automatically entails the resignation of the entire cabinet. Sviridenko came to head the government in July 2025, after succeeding Denys Shmyhal in the post, so the change would come after roughly a year in office.
It is precisely Shmyhal, today the Minister of Energy, who is mentioned in parliament as one of the possible successors. Alongside him, MPs name the Minister of Defence Mykhailo Fedorov and Serhiy Korchak, head of the state energy company Naftogaz.
