Prime minister and virtually entire government replaced in Ukraine
Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, has approved the candidacy of Oleksiy Honcharuk, Deputy Head of the President’s Office, for the position of Prime Minister. He was recommended for this position by President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Honcharuk’s candidacy was supported by 290 of the 450 Ukrainian MPs who voted on the decision.
The 35 year-old will be the youngest prime minister in the country’s history since its declaration of independence.
During his address to parliament before the voting, he said that his top priority will be the promotion of economic growth, which he believes will make it possible to deal with the rest of the problems the country is facing.
Part-time presidential advisor Andriy Zahorodniuk has been appointed as Ukraine’s Minister of Defense. He received 314 votes, comfortably exceeding the required minimum of 226.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) will be headed by the president’s childhood friend Ivan Bakanov. Before getting involved in politics, Bakanov was the head of the media company Kvartal 95 Studio. 319 MPs voted in favor of his candidacy.
The Rada has also approved another candidate put forward by President Zelensky. Vadym Prystaiko, Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration and former head of Ukraine’s Mission to NATO, will now serve as the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He received 310 votes.
Prystaiko told parliament that if there is progress in resolving the conflict in the Donbas, Ukraine’s leaders are prepared to discuss elections in this region, amnesty, and the lifting of trade-related and other restrictions.
In addition to the aforementioned ministers, the Verkhovna Rada confirmed the new composition of the Cabinet of Ministers proposed by Honcharuk.
Out of the old team, only Interior Minister Arsen Avakov and Finance Minister Oksana Markarova remain.
The list of ministers approved by the Rada on Thursday is:
Dmytro Kuleba, deputy prime minister of European and Euro-Atlantic integration;
Mykhailo Fedorov, minister of digital transformation;
Tymofiy Mylovanov, minister of economic development, trade and agriculture;
Oksana Markarova, minister of finance;
Oleksiy Orzhel, minister of energy and protection of the environment;
Vladyslav Kryklii, minister of infrastructure;
Alyona babak, minister of development of communities and territories;
Hanna Novosad, minister of education and science;
Zoryana Skaletska, minister of health;
Volodymyr Borodyansky, minister of culture, youth and sport;
Yulia Sokolovska, minister of social policy;
Arsen Avakov, minister of the interior;
Oksana Koliada, minister of veteran affairs and of the uncontrolled territories;
Dmytro Dubilet, minister of the Cabinet of Ministers;
Denys Malyuska, minister of justice.