Ukrainian parliament appoints new Cabinet, delays decision on defense minister

The Ukrainian parliament on July 16 appointed the Cabinet of Ministers headed by Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi.

As many as 264 members of parliament out of 392 approved the Cabinet's appointment, while 15 voted against it, 19 abstained, and 20 lawmakers did not vote.

Although most ministers were approved, the intrigue over the fate of the defense and foreign ministers remains. Candidates for defense minister and foreign minister are expected to be submitted by President Volodymyr Zelensky later and then considered by parliament.

The Cabinet's appointment was marred by controversy over the dismissal of Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who was widely seen as highly effective, with Zelensky's decision to fire him triggering nationwide protests on July 16.

Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal, who also has been first deputy prime minister (the Cabinet’s second-in-command) since January, kept his position.

He served as prime minister from 2020 to 2025 and defense minister from July 2025 to January 2026.

Tetiana Berezhna, who has been deputy prime minister and culture minister since 2025, also kept her job.

Berezhna has been widely seen as effective since taking over as culture minister, relying on her strong management and legal background to focus on initiatives to make culture financially sustainable and seen as a national security issue. This has included international outreach to rally support for protecting Ukraine’s cultural heritage.

Prior to her role in the Culture Ministry, she was a deputy minister in Ukraine’s Economy Ministry under Yulia Svyrydenko.

Serhii Marchenko was reappointed as finance minister. He has served in the role since 2020.

Viktor Lyashko, who has led the health ministry since 2021, also kept his post.

He served as Ukraine's chief sanitary doctor from 2019 to 2021 and became one of the country's most popular public officials during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Other re-appointed ministers include Matviy Bidnyi, youth and sports minister since 2024, and Denys Ulyutin, social policy minister since 2025.

Denys Maslov, head of parliament’s legal policy committee since 2022, will serve as justice minister.

Maslov has faced mounting pressure from the European Union to advance judicial reform while fending off sharp criticism from Ukraine's civil society. He was interviewed by the Kyiv Independent shortly before his appointment.

Vitaliy Kim, governor of Mykolayiv Oblast since 2020, became veteran affairs minister.

He rose to national prominence during the early months of Russia's full-scale invasion, becoming one of Ukraine's most recognizable public officials through his calm, optimistic social media updates.

Andriy Butenko, who had led the National Agency for Higher Education since 2022, was appointed as science and education minister.

Vsevolod Chentsov, Ukraine’s ambassador to the European Union since 2021, became deputy prime minister for European integration.

Oleksandr Kravchenko, a partner at U.S. consulting firm McKinsey & Company, will be Ukraine's economy and ecology minister. Taras Vysotskyi, deputy agricultural policy minister from 2021 until 2025, was appointed as agriculture minister.

In 2023 Vysotskyi was charged with embezzling Hr 62 million ($1.4 million) by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU).

Oksana Ferchuk, deputy defense minister for digital policy since 2025, was appointed as digital transformation minister.

Ivan Vyhivskyi, head of the National Police, became interior minister.

In 2024 the media outlet Bihus.info published an investigation according to which Vyhivskyi’s sister co-owned a fuel business that traded with companies investigated by the National Police under his leadership.

Bihus.info also reported that Vyhivskyi had moved into a house near Kyiv valued at Hr 6.5 million ($150,000). The property is registered to his longtime family friend from Mykolaiv. According to Bihus.info, she had no income commensurate with such a purchase.

The Kyiv Independent has requested comment from the National Police and the Interior Ministry and will publish their responses once they are received.

Vitaliy Bezgin, a member of parliament from Zelensky's Servant of the People party since 2019, will be minister for communities, territories and internally displaced persons.

Mykola Kalashnyk, governor of Kyiv Oblast since 2025, became infrastructure and reconstruction minister.

Kyiv Independent reporter Kate Tsurkan contributed to this report.