The Leading Contenders For The Post Of Ukrainian Prime Minister Have Been Named

The current head of government may be sent to the U.S. as an ambassador.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced that he will propose replacing the country’s current prime minister Yulia Sviridenko. Denys Shmyhal may return to that position, while Sviridenko herself could become Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States.

“I am grateful to Yulia for her clear, steady, and effective work as prime minister, for her years of productive work as part of Ukraine’s team, and I have offered her the opportunity to lead a new and important direction in relations with a key partner,” Zelenskyy said.

The appointment of the head of government, as well as the composition of the cabinet in Ukraine, is the prerogative of parliament. The resignation of the prime minister leads to the resignation of all ministers. Sources at the BBC Ukrainian Service reported that the Verkhovna Rada will convene next week to approve the nominees.

Reuters sources among members of the Ukrainian parliament believe that possible candidates for the post include Denys Shmyhal, who headed the government before Sviridenko, Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, and Serhiy Koretskyi, head of Naftogaz of Ukraine.

Zelenskyy met with Koretsky immediately after publishing a post about the upcoming change in prime minister, after which he spoke with Shmyhal, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, and Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov.

Among the other changes announced by Zelenskyy are reshuffles in the leadership of law enforcement agencies.

Sviridenko, 40, served as prime minister for one year; she was appointed in July 2025 following a series of reshuffles, becoming only the second woman in the history of post-Soviet Ukraine to hold the post of prime minister.

Prior to that, she spent a year as deputy head of the Presidential Administration, and before that, four years as deputy prime minister in charge of economic development and trade.

She thanked the president in response. “I am grateful to the president for his trust and for his appreciation of my team’s work. I am proud to have been entrusted with the honor of leading the government during the most difficult period in Ukraine’s recent history,” her statement reads.

In his statements published on Telegram, Zelenskyy noted that “a specific person with extensive experience will be responsible” for each priority area of foreign policy.

“Among these areas, the most significant are: the United States and our agreements on licenses to manufacture ‘Patriots,’ as well as other bilateral cooperation in the security sector, which should be reflected in concrete achievements by our governments and companies in Ukraine and the United States; the European anti-ballistic missile project, which could become one of the most significant steps toward strengthening Europe this decade,” Zelenskyy writes.

The issue of producing missiles for the Patriot air defense systems—which are in very short supply in Ukraine—came close to being resolved last week. At the NATO summit in Ankara, U.S. President Donald Trump promised to grant Kyiv a license to manufacture them. Experts, however, warn that the first missiles will not appear in Ukraine’s stockpiles for at least a year or two.

The Ukrainian president did not specify which position Sviridenko is being considered for, nor did the outgoing prime minister’s statement—in which she said she was ready to “serve Ukraine”—provide any further details.

Opposition lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak had previously speculated that she might become Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S. If so, the current Ukrainian ambassador to Washington, Olga Stefanishyna, will leave her post less than a year after her appointment.

According to sources at the Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Stefanishyna has decided to leave the diplomatic service of her own accord. According to a source who spoke with the agency, she requested to end her service due to personal circumstances as early as last week.

“The president is satisfied with Stefanishyna’s work,” the source added.

Sources speaking to the BBC Ukrainian Service are not yet able to speculate on what prompted Zelenskyy’s desire to replace the prime minister.

Unlike the first female head of the cabinet, Yulia Tymoshenko, Sviridenko had no serious political ambitions, and, according to the commentators interviewed, the new person in this position will continue to strictly follow the course set by Bankova Street, where the presidential administration is located.

Sviridenko has experience in foreign policy—she was involved in the negotiations that began regarding Ukraine’s accession to the European Union, and prior to that, she was in direct contact with U.S. officials while the Ukraine-U.S. agreement on mineral extraction was being drafted. Her daily focus was on attracting international aid, supporting the economy, and developing the defense industry.

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