Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday that he was recommending economy minister Yulia Svyrydenko become prime minister in a significant political shakeup for the war-scarred country. The announcement is likely to herald a broad government reshuffle, more than three years after Russia launched its invasion that has cost tens of thousands of lives.
“I have proposed that Yuliia Svyrydenko lead the government of Ukraine and significantly renew its work,” Zelensky wrote on social media, posting a picture of the two. “I look forward to the presentation of the new government’s action plan in the near future,” Zelensky added.
Svyrydenko, 39, gained prominence this year during fraught negotiations around a rare minerals deal with the United States that nearly derailed ties between Kyiv and its most important military ally. Shortly after Zelensky’s announcement, she said Ukraine faced a “crucial time” and listed her priorities as “strengthening” Ukraine’s economy, expanding domestic support programs, and scaling up weapons production.
Ukraine’s economy has been decimated by the Russian invasion, and Kyiv is reliant on tens of billions of dollars in annual support from Western countries to stay afloat. If the change is approved, Svyrydenko would replace Denys Shmygal, who became prime minister in 2020, before the war.
“The government needs a change because people are exhausted,” said Tymofiy Mylovanov, a former economy minister who worked with Svyrydenko. Mylovanov, who now heads the Kyiv School of Economics, said the changes would likely bring “a sort of freshness” after three and a half years of war.
Zelensky said last week he is also considering naming Defence Minister Rustem Umerov as Ukraine’s ambassador to Washington. Zelensky met with Umerov over the weekend, after which he said that “Ukraine needs more positive dynamics in relations with the United States and at the same time new steps in managing the defense sector of our state.”
Svyrydenko, who is also a deputy prime minister, was appointed to manage Ukraine’s struggling economy months before the Kremlin launched its full-scale assault in February 2022. Her appointment as prime minister will require approval by parliament, which has largely united around Zelensky since the invasion and is unlikely to vote against him.
© 2024 AFP
