Parliament fails to appoint energy minister; Vacancy left open for months as energy crisis deepens
Parliament failed to appoint former Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal as the country's next energy minister. The nomination failed to gather enough support, stopping 16 votes short.
The energy ministry remains without a head for nearly two months, as Kyiv and other Ukrainian regions are facing a dire energy situation, with Russia targeting the country's critical infrastructure.
The parliament convenes on Jan. 13 to vote on a proposed government reshuffle initiated by President Volodymyr Zelensky.
As part of Zelensky's reshuffle, Kyrylo Budanov, the military intelligence chief, was appointed as the new head of the President's Office, while Oleh Ivashchenko, the head of the Foreign Intelligence Service, assumed Budanov's former role.
The parliament approved the resignations of Defense Minister Shmyhal and Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov. Over 265 lawmakers supported both resignations.
Vasyl Maliuk's resignation as head of the Security Service (SBU) was also approved, with 235 votes in favor.
David Arakhamia, head of Zelensky's Servant of the People faction, said that "the energy sector is now in a far worse state than the Defense Ministry," while commenting on the reshuffle.
Opposition lawmakers spoke out against the resignations, arguing that the two ministers had been effective in their roles.
Solomia Bobrovska, a lawmaker from the Holos faction, called Shmyhal's resignation "a mistake."
"In the past six months, an enormous, in-depth professional effort has been made, and I'm really sorry that this change is taking place today," she said during her speech in parliament.
Shmyhal's tenure as defense minister lasted less than six months.
Some lawmakers and experts suggested Zelensky's decision to pick him as energy minister was driven by a short list of backup candidates. Potential replacements were also hesitant to take on the role, they said.
Shmyhal's appointment as energy minister was backed by 210 lawmakers, falling short of the 226 votes required to pass.
A lawmaker from Zelensky's party, who spoke to the Kyiv Independent on condition of anonymity, said the outcome surprised them.
"Probably the people (in the faction) are not very satisfied with something," the lawmaker said. "I hope we can succeed (in voting on the second attempt on Jan. 14). But it seems we may have to make some concessions to the opposition."
It was also uncertain if there would be enough votes to remove Maliuk. The rumor of Maliuk's dismissal as head of the SBU prompted intense reaction, with prominent commanders urging Zelensky against the move. Still, Maliuk stepped down.
Initially, the parliamentary defense committee didn't approve his resignation on Jan. 12. Besides praising SBU's performance under Maliuk, some lawmakers pointed out that Zelensky had not yet proposed a new SBU head yet.
As of now, Yevhen Khmara, head of the SBU's Alpha special operations unit, serves as interim head.
Fedorov is set to be appointed as Ukraine's next defense minister on Jan. 14. It's still unclear who will replace Fedorov as the digital transformation minister, with the justice minister role also remaining unfilled.
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Kateryna Denisova
Kateryna Denisova
