The Ukrainian president announced fundamental personnel changes in the government cabinet. The current Minister of Defense, Denys Šmyhaľ, is to move to the post of Deputy Prime Minister, while the Ministry of Defense was offered to Mykhailo Fedorov by the President during the peace negotiations.
On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky proposed the outgoing head of the Ministry of Defense and former Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal for the post of First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy. The day before, he announced that he offered the leadership of the Ministry of Defense to the Minister of Digital Transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov. Zelensky reported about it on the X social network, writes TASR.
- President Zelensky proposed Denys Šmyhal for the post of Deputy Prime Minister.
- Shmyhal may become the Minister of Energy of Ukraine.
- Zelenskyi thanked Shmyhal for his contribution to the ministry.
- Shmyhal was the longest-serving Ukrainian prime minister.
- The Ministry of Energy has been vacant since the November scandal.
The President of Ukraine thanked Shmyhal for his previous work at the Ministry of Defense. “Such a systematic approach is exactly what the Ukrainian energy sector needs right now. It is very important that after each Russian attack we can quickly restore what was destroyed and that the growth of the Ukrainian energy sector remains stable and sufficient to meet the country’s needs,” he said.
Shmyhal was the longest-serving Ukrainian prime minister
Shmyhal led the Ministry of Defense for less than six months after his appointment in July. He replaced Rustem Umerov in the position, who became the chairman of the National Security Council of Ukraine. According to the Kyiv Independent portal, Shmyhaľ is a technocrat loyal to President Zelensky. He was the longest-serving Ukrainian prime minister. He held the position between 2020 and 2025.
The portal reminds that the Ministry of Energy has been vacant since November, when the parliament dismissed Svitlana Hrynčuková. She ended up in office after a corruption scandal related to the energy sector broke out in Ukraine.
