Arakhamia announces new Cabinet of Ministers: Yulia Svyrydenko will become Prime Minister, Shmyhal will head the Defense Ministry
16 July 2025 21:27
The head of the Servant of the People faction, David Arakhamia, announced key personnel changes in the government, which were discussed on July 16 at a meeting of the faction with the participation of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak, Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk, and First Deputy Speaker Oleksandr Kornienko, reports "Komersant Ukrainian".
Cabinet of Ministers update: key appointments
- Yulia Svyrydenko will become the new Prime Minister of Ukraine. Her candidacy was proposed by the president, and the faction supported her, calling her a professional and professional leader ready to lead the government at a critical moment.
- Denys Shmyhal, the previous prime minister, will become Minister of Defense.
- Mykhailo Fedorov will retain his position as Minister of Digital Transformation and become First Deputy Prime Minister.
- Taras Kachka will take over as Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration.
- Herman Halushchenko will head the Ministry of Justice, and Svitlana Hrynchuk, the current Minister of Environmental Protection, will take his place in the Ministry of Energy.
- Oleksiy Sobolev will become Minister of Economy, and Denys Uliutin will head the unified Ministry of Social Policy, Family and Unity of Ukraine.
The positions are retained:
- Matvey Bidnyi (Youth and Sports)
- Natalia Kalmykova (Veterans Affairs)
- Ihor Klymenko (Ministry of Internal Affairs)
- Andriy Sybiga (Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
- Sergiy Marchenko (Finance)
- Viktor Lyashko (healthcare)
- Oksen Lisovyi (Education and Science)
During the faction’s meeting, “a very important conversation took place about defense and strengthening our resilience,” Arakhamia said. The President thanked the MPs for supporting key defense and European integration bills.
“Ukraine is now at a new stage of the struggle for independence, which requires strengthening both within the country and in cooperation with international partners. This also dictates personnel changes,” Arakhamia added.
In his evening video address, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he had already signed documents to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine appointing Denys Shmyhal as the new Defense Minister.
Zelenskyy noted that the Defense Ministry will manage strategic industries. He also said that the current head of the Ministry of Strategic Industries, Herman Smetanin, would return to the position of head of Ukroboronprom.
“The task is very specific and clear. Currently, Ukrainian weapons at the front, in all our operations, account for about 40%. This is much more Ukrainian arms production than ever before since our country’s independence. The volumes are really large. But we need more,” the Head of State said.
The President also emphasized that Ukraine should reach the level of 50% of Ukrainian weapons in the first six months of the new government’s work by increasing its own production. He expressed confidence that this could be realized.
In addition, the Cabinet of Ministers is preparing to reorganize the government structure: it is planned to merge several ministries to optimize their work. This was reported to hromadske by Yulia Paliychuk, a spokesperson for the Servant of the People faction.
Which ministries will be merged:
- TheMinistry of National Unity and the Ministry of Social Policy will be merged into a new agency – the Ministry of Social Policy, Family and Unity of Ukraine.
- TheMinistry of Economy, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources will be consolidated into a single body – the Ministry of Economic Resources of Ukraine.
The reform envisages consolidation of functions and reduction of duplication of powers between the ministries. The changes are expected to allow the government to respond more effectively to wartime challenges and focus resources on key areas.
On July 16, the Verkhovna Rada voted to dismiss the government of Denys Shmyhal, who had been heading the Cabinet of Ministers since March 2020. According to the head of the faction, the government worked in extremely difficult conditions and overcame all challenges with dignity.
During the meeting, not only new candidates were presented, but also those who have proven themselves in government positions and will continue to work in the renewed composition.
