Ukraine’s prime minister said he has submitted his resignation, part of a major, widely anticipated reshuffle of the war-torn country’s government.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was expected to accept the resignation of Denys Shmyhal, who has served under Zelenskyy since 2020 — before Russia’s all-out invasion in February 2022.
He posted a photograph of Shmyhal’s handwritten resignation letter on July 15.
Shmyhal’s replacement will be Yulia Svyrydenko, who has been serving as first deputy prime minister.
A technocrat, Svyrydenko had taken a prominent role in negotiations with the United States over a deal granting US companies access to Ukraine’s valuable minerals and rare earths.
In announcing the shakeup, Zelenskyy said Svyrydenko would seek to expand Ukraine’s domestic weapons production, streamline business regulations, and do more to bolster the country’s social welfare system.
After more than 41 months of often relentless Russian bombardment, Ukrainians are increasingly exhausted, though still largely in support of the war effort.
Opinion polls have shown that support for Zelenskiy among Ukrainians is still high, though lagging behind other prominent public figures, most notably Valeriy Zaluzhniy, who served as the country’s top military commander before resigning and becoming ambassador to Britain.
Elected in 2019, Zelenskyy invoked martial law after the Russian invasion, which precludes holding new elections. He himself has come under criticism for not calling a presidential election, which most analysts say would be impossible to conduct during war-time conditions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has used that as a cudgel to allege that Zelenskyy was illegitimate. In February US President Donald Trump also criticized Zelenskyy – calling him a “dictator without elections” – though he has since toned down his words while also increasing his criticism of Putin.
Zelenskyy was also expected to remove his defense minister, Rustem Umerov, and appoint him as ambassador to Washington.
Shmyhal has been tapped by Zelenskyy to take over the Defense Ministry.
All of the nominations require parliamentary approval, which is not expected to be an issue.
