Ukraine appoints new government in biggest wartime overhaul

KYIV: Ukraine’s parliament appointed the country’s first new prime minister in five years on Thursday, part of a major cabinet overhaul aimed at revitalising wartime management as prospects for peace with Russia grow dim.

Yulia Svyrydenko, 39, has been tasked by President Volodymyr Zelensky with boosting domestic weapons production and reviving Ukraine’s loan-dependent economy.

In a speech to parliament, Zelensky said he expected his new government to increase the share of domestic weapons on Ukraine’s battlefield to 50 per cent from 40 per cent within six months.

He also singled out deregulation and expanding economic co-operation with allies as other key aims of the biggest government reshuffle since Russia’s February 2022 invasion.

Svyrydenko, an experienced technocrat who had served as first deputy prime minister since 2021, pledged to move “swiftly and decisively”.

“War leaves no room for delay,” she wrote on X.

“Our priorities for the first six months are clear: reliable supply for the army, expansion of domestic weapons production, and boosting the technological strength of our defense forces.” Svyrydenko is also well known to the Trump administration, having negotiated a deal giving the US preferential access to Ukraine’s mineral wealth. It was considered crucial to bolstering relations between Kyiv and Washington.