Russian invasion Ukraine's response

Zelensky reshuffles - chooses new prime minister

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is reshuffling his government, AP reports.

Yulia Svyrydenko is elected new prime minister. She is the first new leader appointed since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. She was previously finance minister and played an important role in negotiations on a mineral agreement with the United States.

Several other politicians are also stepping into new roles, but these are not new ones, AP writes. Zelensky has chosen people who have proven loyal and experienced. Among them, former prime minister Denys Shmyhal will become the new defense minister.

Analysis: Will breathe new life into a country tired of war

Volodymyr Zelenskyj is trying to breathe new life into a war-weary country, writes AP's Hanna Arhirova in an analysis after parliament approved Yulia Svyrydenko as the new prime minister. She is described as a loyal politician with extensive experience in diplomatic talks with the United States and other Western countries.

In addition to the mineral agreement with the United States, the former finance minister has also led negotiations on sanctions against Russia, she writes, and at the same time points out that the latest reshuffle in the government is not perceived as a big deal by the Ukrainian public.

Ariane Chemin writes in Le Monde that Volodymyr Zelenskyj's confidence figures soared after the fight with Donald Trump in the White House last winter, but that he is currently being criticized for exerting pressure on political opponents who have raised the alarm about corruption problems.

“Svyrydenko will appear as a new face in a country where elections have not been held.”

DN’s Anna-Lena Laurén writes that the new prime minister is considered capable and efficient, but that loyalty to Zelenskyj is her “biggest trump card.” She is known for defending all of Zelenskyj’s ideas, she writes.

“Everything indicates that Zelenskyj has now chosen a government that will follow his every whim.”