Vladimir Zelenskyy offered the position of Prime Minister of Ukraine to the head of the Naftogaz energy company Sergei Koretsky. This was reported by Ukrainska Pravda (UP), citing sources. Before that Financial Times and “RBC-Ukraine” Koretsky was appointed one of the main candidates for the post of head of government.
Sergey Koretsky is 48 years old. He became CEO of Naftogaz in 2025. Before that, Koretsky led Ukrnafta for three years (after the authorities nationalized it, taking it away from oligarch Igor Kolomoisky). Under Koretsky, Ukrnafta moved from loss to profit and became one of the most successful state-owned enterprises. Reports Ukrainian Channel 24.
UP sources said Zelensky followed Koretsky’s work and considered him “one of the most powerful government managers.” After inviting Koretsky to take over as Prime Minister, the President identified among his priorities the protection of Ukraine’s energy system and preparation for the coming winter: which is expected to become the most difficult since the beginning of a large-scale war due to Russian attacks on energy facilities.
Koretsky was surprised by Zelensky’s proposal, but agreed to it. He added that he does not fully understand the scale of the challenges that lie ahead, but is ready to try, his UP interlocutors said.
According to the publication, Zelensky decided to change the composition of the Cabinet after Ukraine’s Ambassador to the United States, Olga Stefanyshina, informed him last week of his intention to leave the diplomatic service. For Zelensky, her unexpected resignation became “more of an opportunity than a problem”: he decided to appoint Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko as the new ambassador to Washington, UP wrote. The Financial Times, which also reports on Sviridenko’s move to a diplomatic position, notes that it was able to establish relationships with members of Donald Trump’s team during the preparation of the raw materials deal.
Sviridenko headed the Ukrainian government for just under a year. The main condition for her resignation was a change in the power structure after Kirill Budanov became head of the President’s Office instead of Andriy Yermak, as well as Zelensky’s desire to see the government more independent. As UP explains, it has been the President’s Office that sets tasks for the Cabinet for a long time, but recently Zelensky has shown weariness with this working model – and can even say in meetings something like “Well, at least you can do it without me.”
The Union Party links Sviridenko’s departure to the presidential elections in Ukraine: the President’s Office has supposedly “reconciled” with the fact that they cannot be held this fall, and saw this as an opportunity to renew the government.
The resignation of the Prime Minister means the resignation of the entire Council of Ministers. Its new composition has not yet been decided, UP sources said. The publication draws special attention to Mikhail Fedorov, the new Minister of Defense, who He praised To take a technological approach to work, but was criticized for reforming the army. According to UP, Fedorov was one of those whom Zelensky asked about their readiness to head the government. He refused, under the pretext that he did not have time to implement his plans in the Ministry of Defense.
After the meeting with Zelensky, Fedorov was confident that he would keep his current position. But some UP sources believe that he may be moved to a “symbolic position”, because during the six months he spent in the Ministry of Defense he came into conflict “with all the groups formed around the defense budget, without exception.” Evidence of Fedorov’s imminent demotion could be the fact that Zelensky, in parallel with the conversation with him, asked Interior Minister Igor Klimenko to be ready to move to the Ministry of Defense, UP wrote.