“Summer tradition” or real reshuffle: the Servant of the People party answered whether Shmyhal will be fired
3 July 2025 17:40
Ukraine’s political summer is once again characterized by loud discussions of a possible government reshuffle. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, who has been heading the Cabinet of Ministers for six years, is the subject of another wave of resignation rumors. This time, the rumors include the names of potential successors and even details of a possible new government. However, whether this is a genuine political process or just another “summer wave” that annually raises the topic of the Cabinet’s resignation
A detailed list of possible personnel changes in the Cabinet of Ministers was published by MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak of the Voice faction. In his Telegram channel, he called this process the “Government of the second numbers” or the “Great Bed Shuffle.”
According to the parliamentarian, a large-scale rotation in the government is expected, which will affect key positions, including the prime minister.
Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers: a key reshuffle
▪️ According to Zheleznyak, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal is leaving his post after six years at the helm of the government. The idea of his possible appointment as ambassador to the United States is unlikely.
▪️ Yulia Svyrydenko, the current First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, may become the new head of the government.
▪️ Oleksiy Kuleba, the deputy head of the Presidential Office, is seen as a potential first deputy prime minister. However, there are doubts due to risks similar to those in the case of Oleksiy Chernyshov.
▪️ Oleksiy Sobolev, First Deputy Minister of Economy, is to head the Ministry of Economy instead of Svyrydenko, but without the deputy prime minister’s prefix.
▪️ Mykhailo Fedorov remains Deputy Prime Minister for Digitalization, while Olha Stefanishyna remains Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration.
Ministerial portfolios: who will stay and who will go
▪️ Ihor Klymenko may become Deputy Prime Minister for Security and Defense, uniting the Interior Ministry, Defense Ministry, Ministry of Veterans, and Ministry of Industry and Trade. It is not yet known whether he will retain the post of Interior Minister.
▪️ Oleh Nemchinov resigns as Cabinet Minister. He is likely to be replaced by Kostyantyn Maryevych, First Deputy State Secretary of the Cabinet of Ministers.
▪️ Oksana Zholnovych (Ministry of Social Policy), Oksen Lisovyi (Ministry of Education), Viktor Lyashko (Ministry of Health) and Natalia Kalmykova (Ministry of Veterans) may also lose their positions. In the Ministry of Social Policy, Daryna Marchak, the first deputy, is being replaced. The search for other candidates is ongoing.
▪️ Sergiy Marchenko, Minister of Finance, is likely to leave his post with a 70% probability. Among the likely successors are Denys Uliutin or Roksolana Pidlasa.
▪️ Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko, Environment Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk, Infrastructure Minister Vitaliy Koval and Sports Minister Matviy Bidnyi are expected to retain their positions.
▪️ Herman Smetanin may remain at the head of the Ministry of Industry, although there is only a 50% chance.
▪️ Mykola Tochytskyi will lose his government post, but, according to Zheleznyak, may be sent as an ambassador to the United States or Canada.
▪️ Andriy Sybiga will remain in the post of foreign minister.
Zheleznyak emphasizes that the government is being formed from “second numbers” – people who have previously been deputies or close to current ministers. Such a scheme is likely to avoid an open competition and ensure that the executive branch is manageable
“Gray cardinals” in power?
People’s Deputy of the Servant of the People faction Mariana Bezuhla made a loud statement about possible personnel changes in the highest echelons of power. In response to her colleague Yaroslav Zheleznyak’s publication about the possible new composition of the Cabinet, Bezuhla voiced the names that, in her words, “were forgotten to be mentioned.”
“Serhiy Boyev is being considered for the position of Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, and Major General Andriy Hnatov is being considered for the position of Commander-in-Chief,” Bezuhla said
She also publicly questioned the personnel maneuvers around the prime minister’s position. According to her, the head of the President’s Office, Andriy Yermak, is actually already performing the functions of the prime minister, promoting his candidate, Yulia Svyrydenko, for this position, while avoiding open participation himself.
This situation, according to the MP, creates chaos, destruction and backroom dealings.
“It would be good if our ‘gray cardinals’ came out of the shadows and took their positions, institutionalized. At least partially,” Bezuhla urged.
She also added that President Volodymyr Zelenskyi is “kind of above everything,” but seems to allow a competition between Yermak and Arakhamia so that neither of them gets the final say. At the same time, the MP believes that the head of state is more inclined to dislike the Verkhovna Rada.
Servant of the People responds to rumors of Shmyhal’s resignation
MP from the Servant of the People faction Georgiy Mazurashu in an exclusive commentary
According to the MP, these talks are more like “traditional summer rumors” than real political processes. The MP ironically recalled the established practice of discussing the resignation of the Prime Minister, which is intensified in the summer.
“The rumor mongers themselves joke that we have a tradition of ‘firing Shmyhal’ every summer. I think there has been dissatisfaction with various aspects of the work of this Cabinet since the first months after its appointment, and there is still some. But, as you can see, this is the sixth summer of this Prime Minister, who has been rumored to be “fired” so many times,” says Mazurash
At the same time, the MP recognizes that anything is possible in politics, and changes can be sudden.
“Changes are possible in principle and very fast. Recently, before the “hour of questions to the government,” we had a few words with the first deputy of the Ministry of Defense, something was planned, and by the evening I learned that he had already been fired. So anything can happen,” said Mazurashu
Mazurashu emphasized that he had not personally heard about the real intentions of the government reshuffle from either his colleagues or the faction leadership.
“Personally, I have not yet heard any talk of such real intentions from any of my leaders or colleagues in the faction. I could ask Denys Anatoliyovych, but I think it would be incorrect,” Mazurashu said
The MP also suggested that the active promotion of the topic of the government’s possible resignation could be beneficial to political opponents.
“Perhaps it is politically beneficial for the opponents of the ruling team? Or “the worse the better”, or “for the future”, or even worse – to help Ukraine’s enemies to shake the situation in the middle”, – Georgiy Mazurashu
What does the President’s Office say?
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy denied the information about the alleged resignation of Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.
“First of all, I would like to clarify that if I decided to completely change the Prime Minister, I would first of all tell him and, sorry, before the journalists. We have been working for many years, after all. So, I did not have a conversation with him,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Let me remind you that rumors of a large-scale government rotation intensified in July. This is not the first “summer escalation” of talks about the resignation of the Cabinet of Ministers, but it is the first time that the likely composition of the new government has been voiced in such detail. So far, these changes have not been officially confirmed by the President’s Office or the Verkhovna Rada.
