Ukraine’s parliament to vote on new government: Who is on the list

On July 14, parliament approved the resignation of Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko. Under Ukrainian law, the entire Cabinet automatically stepped down with her.

Rada Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk presented the list of proposed appointments:

• Interior minister — Ivan Vyhivskyi, currently head of the National Police;
• Deputy prime minister for European integration — Vsevolod Chentsov, currently Ukraine’s ambassador to the European Union;
• Veterans affairs minister — Vitaliy Kim, currently head of the Mykolaiv Oblast State Administration;
• Education and science minister — Andriy Butenko, currently head of the National Agency for Quality Assurance in Higher Education;
• Justice minister — Denys Maslov, a Servant of the People MP and head of the parliamentary committee on legal policy;
• Digital transformation minister — Oksana Ferchuk, currently a deputy defense minister for digital development, digital transformation and digitalization.

Stefanchuk’s list did not include candidates for the two posts appointed under the president’s quota: defense minister and foreign minister. As previously reported, current Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko is widely seen as the likely pick for defense minister.

Two ministries to be split

The Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture is being split into two, with a separate Ministry of Agrarian Policy restored.

Under the proposed arrangement:

• Economy and environment minister — Oleksandr Kravchenko, managing partner at international consulting firm McKinsey;
• Agrarian policy minister — Taras Vysotskyi, former first deputy minister of agrarian policy and food, who has faced accusations of abuse of office.

In addition, the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development, previously headed by Oleksii Kuleba, is being divided into the Ministry of Regions and the Ministry of Infrastructure.

Under that plan:

• Regions minister — Vitalii Bezhin, a Servant of the People MP;
• Infrastructure minister — Mykola Kalashnyk, head of the Kyiv Oblast State Administration.

A number of ministers are staying

The following officials are expected to be reappointed:

• First deputy prime minister and energy minister — Denys Shmyhal;
• Culture minister — Tetiana Berezhna;
• Youth and sports minister — Matviy Bidnyi;
• Health minister — Viktor Liashko;
• Finance minister — Sergii Marchenko.

Yuliia Svyrydenko had earlier been tipped for the post of Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States. But after media reports said she had declined that role, she was also considered for the position of head of the Office of the President.