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Cabinet reshuffle announced
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced a government reshuffle on Sunday, proposing the replacement of Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko and the heads of some law enforcement agencies.
“Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced a government reshuffle, as well as proposing the replacement of Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko and the heads of some law enforcement agencies”
Zelenskyy said, “Ukraine is changing its political strategy,” and added that “We agreed that implementing these changes requires a renewal of the Cabinet of Ministers.”
Svyrydenko stepped down on Sunday as Zelenskyy announced fresh changes to Ukraine’s government, and AP reported that Zelenskyy had offered her a new and important position.
AP said Svyrydenko had served as Ukraine’s economy minister and was named prime minister in July 2025 at the age of 39 after playing a lead role in securing a mineral agreement between Ukraine and the United States.
In a separate statement, Zelenskyy said the reshuffle would focus on key foreign policy priorities, including agreements to manufacture Patriot air defence systems under licence, advancing Ukraine’s bid for European Union membership, and deepening ties with the Gulf region.
Lawmakers weigh the move
Opposition lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak told France 24 that Svyrydenko was likely to take up the post of ambassador to the United States, saying, “That means she will leave the post of prime minister and the entire government will be reshuffled.”
France 24 also reported that under Ukrainian law, the prime minister’s resignation needs approval of parliament and entails the resignation of the entire government.
In Kyiv, the Kyiv Independent reported that the decision “stuns lawmakers” and quoted a lawmaker saying, “Cabinet resignations are generally a last resort.”
The Kyiv Independent said Zelensky announced on social media that he met with senior officials following the announcement, including Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, and Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.
Zelenskyy’s stated framework for the reshuffle, as quoted by Al Jazeera, was that “Each priority foreign policy direction will be overseen by a specific individual with substantial experience” to implement agreements reached at leaders’ level.
War-linked priorities and strikes
Alongside the personnel changes, Zelenskyy said the updated political strategy would include foreign policy priorities such as agreements to manufacture Patriot air defence systems under licence and advancing Ukraine’s bid for European Union membership.
AP reported that Ukraine’s strikes against Russian oil sites continued, saying a Ukrainian attack in southwest Russia killed one person and wounded three more, with Russia’s Samara region governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev saying a child was among the injured.
AP said Russian media outlets reported the target was the region’s Syzran Oil Refinery, owned by Rosneft, and that the refinery sits some 800 kilometers (500 miles) east of the border.
AP also reported that Russia’s Ministry of Defense said Sunday that it had attacked the ports of Odesa and Chornomorsk in Ukraine’s Odesa region, while Ukrainian officials had not yet commented on the claims.
In Zelenskyy’s social media framing, the reshuffle was tied to implementing changes that he said require “a renewal of the Cabinet of Ministers,” as Ukraine seeks to align leadership with the “agreements reached at the leaders’ level” during the war.
