Koretskyi assumes the post of Prime Minister from his position as Chief Executive Officer of Naftogaz, Ukraine’s largest state-owned oil and gas company. He was elected by the Verkhovna Rada (national parliament) with 289 votes.
“Ukraine’s defence, economic stability and integration into the EU are my main priorities,” he said before the vote.
Ukraine’s national parliament approved the new government shortly after 4 p.m. local time.
Koretskyi succeeds Yuliia Svyrydenko, who had served as Prime Minister for only one year. Her departure comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy unexpectedly announced major changes to the government on Sunday.
Bitter conflictFedorov held a press conference on Thursday in which he accused Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi of attempting to divide the war-torn country. Fedorov described a deep conflict between the two, which ended with his dismissal.
“We must focus on the war and on an effective strategy,” Syrskyi wrote in a comment posted on Telegram. He also referred to the operation that prevented Kyiv from falling into Russian hands in 2022—an operation for which he himself has received much of the credit.
The Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief thanked Fedorov and wrote that he still wished to have him on the team.
The commander of the Joint Forces, Mykhailo Drapatyi, for his part said that the army “needs change” in a rare public statement. He thanked Fedorov for “not being afraid to address the problems”.
Thirty-five-year-old Fedorov became Ukraine’s youngest cabinet minister when he was appointed Minister of Defence six months ago. The appointment was seen as a sign that Zelenskyy supported Fedorov’s technology-driven vision, according to The New York Times. He has become the public face of the country’s extensive drone warfare programme.
The replacement of the Minister of Defence triggered street protests in several Ukrainian cities on Thursday, including Kyiv, Odesa, Lviv and Kharkiv. (NTB)
It is a rare occurrence for Ukrainians to take to the streets and demonstrate.