Kyiv set to replace Prime Minister soon, parliament source says

The MP said this in a comment in the halls of the Verkhovna Rada, as reported by Espreso correspondent Kateryna Halko.

“Shmyhal’s dismissal is coming. It will happen during the next plenary week. Why? Because, as you can see, his government is steadily losing support. [MP Dmytro] Razumkov has begun collecting signatures. I think there will be many. No one is stepping up to defend him, and it’s clear that no one wants to hand the initiative to the opposition.”

According to Zhelezniak, the decision to dismiss Shmyhal was made over the weekend. However, he noted that it might not be fully finalized.

“To be honest, we talk about firing Shmyhal every year. If you look at the political news cycle, it’s usually June–July — we talk about firing him. August–September — he gets new ministers and the government keeps running under the slogan ‘Shmyhal forever.’ But this time, I think the situation is different. We’ll likely have to appoint a ‘new Shmyhal,’” Zhelezniak added.

As for potential successors, the MP named four previous candidates: First Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko; Vice Prime Minister for Innovation and Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov; Vice Prime Minister for Reconstruction Oleksiy Kuleba; and former Vice Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov, now Minister for National Unity.

Zhelezniak claims that Chernyshov is out of the race due to law enforcement interest tied to anti-corruption probes. While Fedorov was considered the strongest candidate, the MP said, “he has one flaw that disqualifies him for the job — he is not a person close to [Presidential Chief of Staff] Yermak.” That reportedly leaves only Svyrydenko and Kuleba.

“From what I know, Kuleba lost this internal competition. Maybe it’s because he can’t speak well. Maybe some things about his work will surface. Maybe it’s because no one really knows what he’s been doing for the past six months. It’s hard to judge which of Yermak’s allies is the better choice, but Svyrydenko remains the only candidate. That’s why she will become the ‘new Shmyhal,’” Zhelezniak concluded.