The Ukrainian President Volodyymyr Zenskyy called a new prime minister for the first time since Russia invaded the Eastern European nation more than three years ago.
Ukrainian legislators announced on Thursday on social media that parliament had voted for a comfortable majority in favor of Yuliia Svyrydenko who became the new prime minister of the country.
Svyrydenko, 39, negotiated a large American -Uraine minerals and investment framework with the American Minister of Finance Scott Bessent last month.
Earlier this week, Zenskyy said that he suggested that Svyrydenko, who previously served as Minister of Economy and one of the Deputy Prime Ministers of Ukraine since November 2021, led the government when he initiated “a transformation of the executive in Ukraine”. “He shared a photo of them and said that they discussed” concrete measures to stimulate the economic potential of Ukraine, to expand support programs for Ukrainians and scale up our domestic weapon production. ”
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Yulia Svyrydenko welcomes Denys Shmyhal after the Verkhovna Rada had accepted his dismissal as Prime Minister of Ukraine on July 16, 2025 in Kiev. (Andrii Nesterenko/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
It is the most important restructuring of Ukrainian government since Russia has invaded on 24 February 2022 and is considered by opposition laws as a way for Zenskyy to consolidate power. Since the day after the invasion, Ukraine has been under the state of siege.
“They will be told by the president’s office what they should really do,” Yaroslav Zheleznyak, from the Holos party, told Reuters, The argumentation of the new government would be due to Zenskyyy, who has considerable war powers in the context of the Constitution.
Svyrydenko will replace the departing Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, the longest serving head of the government in the history of Ukraine. He held the position more than five years after he was appointed on March 4, 2020.
Shmyhal, who met a special envoy for Ukraine Kellog this week after President Donald Trump had approved the sale of more Patriot Systems, will play a new role as the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, according to the website of parliament.
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, meanwhile, congratulated Svyrydenko and Shmyhal on their new roles.
“We are completely behind you while fighting for the survival of Ukraine and working for the restoration of your country and the EU future,” she wrote to Svyrydenko. For Shmyhal she said: “Best wishes for your most important new role as Minister of Defense.”
The Ukrainian President VolodyMyr Zenskyr announced Yuliia Svyrydenko as the next prime minister of the country. (Antonio Masiello/Getty images)
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The Ministry of Defense has one of the largest budgets and has a crucial interest because of the war. Shmyhal will replace Rustem Umerov, which, although he tried to pierce the reforms, saw his term of office characterized by internal turbulence and persistent dysfunction in the Ukraine defense system. Despite his active role on the international stage, critics said that the ministry remained plagued by maladministration.
On Tuesday Zenskyy posted a photo from his meeting with Svyrydenko and Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov.
“We are preparing the first steps of the renewed government,” wrote Zenskyy and identified the most important priorities in the coming six months as “increasing domestic weapon production in Ukraine, the complete rise of the required volumes of all types of drones for the defense forces of Ukraine and the full imstantial and of the randomation of the integration of the country and the of the Negstantial and the of the Geregulingers, and the of the Geregulingers and from thegulings Social support programs for our people. “
“We have defined the results that can be achieved in the first half of the work of the new government,” added Zenskyy.
Yulia Svyrydenko was named the next Prime Minister of Ukraine, after a proposal by President Volodyymyr Zenskyy and a majority by the country’s parliament (Vitalii Nosach/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
Svyrydenko has often represented Ukraine in high-level conversations with Western partners, aimed at defense cooperation, economic recovery and reconstruction.
Legislers and fellow officials describe her as a diligent director with a reputation for loyalty to the presidential office, according to the Associated Press.
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Of the parliament with 450 seats, 262 legislators voted in favor that Svyrydenko became prime minister, Reuters reported, referring to posts of a handful of legislators, including Yaroslav Zheleznyak, who placed a photo of the electronic voting table. The table showed that 22 legislators voted against Svyrydenko and fired 26. According to Reuters, the Ukrainian parliament does not broadcast sessions during wartime.
The Associated Press has contributed to this report.
