Ukraine: fresh government with Julia Swyridenko at the head

On July 17, the ultimate Council voted (with 262 votes in favour and 22 against) to appoint Julia Swyridenko as Prime Minister and approved the composition of its government. The first Deputy Prime Minister was the erstwhile Minister of Digitization Mikhail Fedorov. The resigned Prime Minister Denys Szmyhal received the seat of Minister of Defence (this ministry was merged with the Ministry of strategical Industries). 1 of the departments of the economy, environment and agricultural policy was created, headed by erstwhile deputy Swyridenko in the Ministry of Economy – Oleksiy Sobolev. Oversight of the Ministry of Justice was one more time separated from the function of Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, and the erstwhile Deputy Prime Minister for this area – Mr. Alexander Stefaniszin – became the typical of the president for the improvement of cooperation with the US. The Justice Ministry was taken over by Herman Haluszchenko (formerly Minister of Energy), and Taras Kaczka (so far Deputy Minister of Economy) is to be liable for integration with the European Union and NATO. abroad Minister Andrij Sybiha retained his position.

It is not expected that the reconstruction of the government will bring greater changes to Ukrainian interior or abroad policies. abrupt rosads are primarily liable for corruption scandals involving any of its members, not the announced desire to bring fresh faces to the stage. In Ukraine, the government is not the main entity in determining the direction of reforms and making decisions – this function is the presidential centre. The Cabinet of Ministers is following his orders.

Comment

• The appointment of Swyridenko increases Andrij Jermak's influence on the government. The fresh Prime Minister is closely associated with the Head of the President's Office (in fact the second most influential politician in the country) and known for being a small assertive of him. Nor does she have as much experience as her predecessor in balancing between the interests of the various groups within the power camp and the instructions of the leader's surroundings.
• The most probable origin of change is corruption. In June of this year, the National Anti-corruption Office (NABU) planned to present allegations to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Unity to Oleksiy Chernyszov. To avoid this, he extended his abroad visits by respective days. Only after talking to Volodymyr Zelenski's trusted associate Timur Mindycz (a co-owner of the studio "Quarter 95", founded by the current president) did he return to the country where he was accused. In turn, since 2019, the Deputy Prime Minister Stefaniszyna has been charged with corruption, and in fresh months journalists have discovered respective fresh scandals involving her. Thus, the reconstruction of the government allows authorities to exchange problematic ministers and to get free of the image problem without openly admitting that resignations are related to scandals (Czernyszow is closely associated with the Zelenski family). However, the corruption scandals in the Ministry of Energy did not prevent us from remaining in the Hałuszczenko government – the fresh Minister of Justice most likely benefited from the protection of Mindych.
• The impetus for change could besides be the social request for fresh faces in politics. Since president Donald Trump became president of the United States for the second time, Ukrainian politicians have been looking forward to a ceasefire, allowing, among another things, fresh elections. In the face of legal inadmissibility due to the ongoing war and social discontent with the activities of the Cabinet of Ministers (according to the March investigation of the Razumkov Centre, the government did not trust more than 70% of respondents, and Prime Minister Szmyhal – 67%), the authorities decided to rotate staff to keep the appearance of a reaction to social sentiment and political events. In practice, however, most of the changes (except as a Ministry of Culture) are to shift any deputy ministers to ministerial positions and replace respective heads of ministries (see Annex 1). The opposition called them “the large displacement of beds”.
• The appointment of Duck as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for European Integration may consequence in a more decisive rhetoric by Kiev towards the EU. This is an effort to make an impression of fresh openness in the implementation of EU commitments, especially as the European Commission has criticised the buking reforms of the judiciary system. At the same time, this decision demonstrates Kiev's more confrontational approach to further negotiations with the EU, peculiarly in the context of opposition by any associate States (including all EU neighbours of Ukraine) to the provisions of the fresh trade agreement. The duck is known for its non-graduate language and hard position in negotiations. In 2023 he threatened to introduce an embargo on imports of apples and vegetables in consequence to the ban on imports of agricultural products from Ukraine. In March this year, he suggested retaliatory measures against countries that he felt were obstructing negotiations on the terms of a trade agreement with the EU. He was besides among the negotiators of the natural material agreement with the US.
• The merger of respective ministries into 1 under the direction of Sobolev to facilitate economical policy. The current practice of creating akin “superministers” in Ukraine, however, shows that they usually do not fulfil their tasks. Outside Sobolev, the government lacks people associated with Swyridenko, which means that in the event of conflict, the Prime Minister will gotta number on the support of the President's Office. A certain balance for Jermak's influence can be ensured by promotion powerfully linked with Zelenski Fedorov as the first deputy prime minister and remaining Shmyhal in the government.
• As part of the reconstruction, different ministries established in 2024 were reorganized, which did not play the intended role. The changes affected the Ministry of Culture and strategical Communication. According to the first idea, he was to fight Russian propaganda, but the concept was now abandoned. The body became the Ministry of Culture and its manager's position will stay vacant for now. The Ministry of National Unity, whose aim was to advance the return of Ukrainians to the country, was merged with the Ministry of Social Policy.
  

Annex 1. Biography of Prime Minister Swyridenko

Julija Swyridenko (born 1985 in Chernihov) is an authoritative and economist. In 2008, she graduated from Kiev National Commercial and economical University. From 2008 to 2011, she worked for the agricultural company AMP. As of 2011, she was the head of the permanent representation of Chernihov in Wuxi partner city in China. In May 2015, she became an advisor to the head of the Chernihov Circuit Administration of Wales Kulicz, and 2 years later to his replacement. From July to November 2018, she served as Chief. In September 2019, she assumed the function of Deputy Minister of the Economy (including labour law reform), in December 2020 – Deputy Andrija Jermak, Head of the President's Office, liable for economical policy, and since November 2021 – the first Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Economy in Denys Shmyhal's government. In 2025, she negotiated with Americans the terms of the natural material agreement.

He has the reputation of an unconflicted person, and there are no bigger issues. In April this year, the opposition accused her of having a conflict of interest related to the wage obtained for lectures at the Kiev School of Economics. For a year, she earned over 3 million hryvnia (about PLN 300 thousand), erstwhile the related non-governmental organization belonged to grant contractors who obtained the Ministry of Economy from abroad. However, the fresh Prime Minister was not formally charged.

Swyridenko's husband is Serhii Derlemenko, an entrepreneur from Chernihov. They have a daughter.

Annex 2. Composition of the Government of Swyridenko