Zelensky proposes Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal for vacant energy minister role
Ukrainian Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal delivers a joint press conference with his Swedish counterpart on Nov. 6, 2025, in Solna, near Stockholm, Sweden. (Jonathan Nackstrand /AFP via Getty Images)
President Volodymyr Zelensky suggested to appoint Denys Shmyhal, the country's defense minister and ex-prime minister, to lead Ukraine's Energy Ministry.
The move follows a major political reshuffle, with a number of high-ranking officials being reassigned to different government jobs.
"We held consultations with Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, and I count on lawmakers' support," Zelensky said on Jan. 3. Government changes, including the appointment and ousting of ministers is conducted through a parliament vote.
Shmyhal, 50, 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.
Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko and Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk were dismissed on Nov. 19 after being implicated in a corruption scandal.
Before becoming prime minister, Shmyhal was largely unknown to the public.
He previously led the economic department of the western Lviv Oblast government and ran unsuccessfully for parliament as an independent candidate in 2014.
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. While former DTEK employees have often moved into political roles as Akhmetov’s allies, Shmyhal claimed that he was selected through an open process and had no ties to the oligarch during his tenure.
Shmyhal left DTEK in 2019 to become the governor of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast.
The following year, he was appointed deputy prime minister and communities and territories development minister, before stepping up to lead the government.
