Ukraine PM Svyrydenko Resigns as Zelensky Orders Government Reshuffle

Ukraine’s Prime Minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, has resigned following a government reshuffle ordered by President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The Ukrainian parliament formally approved her resignation in a vote on Tuesday.

Zelensky is yet to name her replacement, saying only that Kyiv is “changing its political strategy” to meet “new challenges and new tasks.”

Svyrydenko, who was appointed in July 2025, was widely seen as having strong ties with US officials. She had negotiated a minerals investment deal with Washington following Zelensky’s tense Oval Office meeting with President Donald Trump.

The shake-up comes at a critical point in Ukraine’s more-than-four-year war with Russia, as Moscow intensifies deadly ballistic missile strikes and Kyiv moves to begin domestic production of US Patriot air defence systems.

Announcing the reshuffle over the weekend, Zelensky said he intended to assign different officials to handle various areas of foreign policy. He added that he had offered Svyrydenko a new position overseeing “relations with a key partner,” without giving further details.

Notably, the office of prime minister in Ukraine does not typically carry authority over military strategy or frontline operations, areas that remain under the control of Zelensky and his military commanders.

In her farewell remarks, Svyrydenko said she delivered “concrete results” during her time in office, and shared a photo of herself forming a heart symbol with her hands while addressing parliament.

Ukrainian media reports have named Sergiy Koretsky, CEO of state energy firm Naftogaz, as the frontrunner to take over as prime minister. Zelensky met with Koretsky over the weekend, shortly after announcing plans to remove Svyrydenko, and praised his “effective leadership” in what he described as an “extremely complex sector.”

Energy remains a top priority for Ukraine, as the national grid continues to suffer from repeated Russian attacks, leading to widespread power outages throughout the winter.