Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is aiming to replace his prime minister in a massive restructuring of the nation’s government.
The president announced Monday that he intends to elevate First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, a key negotiator with the U.S. in recent months, to become the next head of Ukraine’s government.
“We are initiating a transformation of the executive branch in Ukraine. I have proposed that Yuliia Svyrydenko lead the Government of Ukraine and significantly renew its work,” Zelensky said in the announcement. “I look forward to the presentation of the new Government’s action plan in the near future.”
Svyrydenko would replace Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, who has been in office since the Russian invasion began. He first took the position in 2020 and is Ukraine’s longest-serving prime minister.
But Zelensky, the head of state in Ukraine, cannot unilaterally swap out the head of government.
Shmyhal would need to resign from his position, and Svyrydenko would need to be approved by the Ukrainian Parliament.
The next session of Parliament begins this week. Zelensky’s faction, the Servant of the People Party, controls 231 of the 450 seats.
Zelensky said Svyrydenko’s intended elevation to prime minister is part of a larger “transformation” in the Ukrainian government seeking to “strengthen the resilience of our state and society.”
The two met on Monday and discussed “concrete measures to boost Ukraine’s economic potential, expand support programs for Ukrainians, and scale up our domestic weapons production.”
Svyrydenko previously served as the nation’s minister of economic development and trade and as a deputy in the Office of the President.
She was a key negotiator on the U.S.-Ukraine minerals deal signed in April.
President Donald Trump met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Monday to discuss the future of U.S. weapons distribution to Ukraine.
TRUMP MEETS WITH NATO SECRETARY-GENERAL MARK RUTTE AS US SENDS MISSILES TO UKRAINE
Trump announced during the press conference that if a deal is not made to end the war within 50 days, he is prepared to implement 100% “secondary tariffs” against Russia with further punishments to come.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) previously attributed Trump’s pivot toward Ukraine to increasing frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has been dodging meaningful negotiations with the White House since the administration began.