2 Ukrainian ministers resign, await reappointment
Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal and Deputy Prime Minister and Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov submitted their resignations to the Ukrainian parliament on Jan. 9 amid an ongoing political reshuffle, Chairman Ruslan Stefanchuk said.
Fedorov is expected to replace Shmyhal as defense minister, while Shmyhal could take over as energy minister, a role that has been vacant for two months following a major corruption scandal. President Volodymyr Zelensky also proposed Shmyhal for the position of first deputy prime minister.
Ukraine's parliament will vote on the resignations and appointments next week.
In early January, Zelensky started a big political reshuffle, more than a month after dismissing his right-hand man Andriy Yermak, who gathered unprecedented influence within the government.
Zelensky shook up Ukraine's special services by appointing Kyrylo Budanov, the head of military intelligence, as the new head of the President's Office. He also requested for dismissal of Vasyl Maliuk from his post as head of Ukraine's Security Service (SBU).
The move comes as Kyiv and Washington hold peace talks, while Russia continues its offensive on the battlefield and attacks on Ukraine's energy grid.
Both Fedorov and Shmyhal are long-standing trusted allies of Zelensky.
Shmyhal led the Defense Ministry for less than six months after being appointed in July. Described by some as a technocrat loyal to the president, he was Ukraine's longest-serving prime minister, holding the position from 2020 to 2025.
From 2017 to 2019, he held a senior position at DTEK, Ukraine's biggest private energy firm, owned by the country's richest man, Rinat Akhmetov.
Under Fedorov's leadership, the Digital Transformation Ministry also spearheaded multiple projects, including drone production. He also played a key role in launching Brave1, a project that links his ministry with the Defense Ministry to advance military tech.
"Ukraine is fully committed to diplomacy and seeks to end this war as soon as possible. But Russia is not demonstrating a similar approach and prolongs its aggression. We will counter this through greater technological capacity and the transformation of the defense sector," Zelensky said.
