Zelensky Allegedly Considering Firing PM Shmyhal

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky might be considering firing Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, the Ukrainian news outlet Ukrainska Pravda reported.

The publication, citing unnamed sources from within Zelensky’s team, said the President expects more “creative solutions and proposals” from the latter.

“The president is tired of Shmyhal, it can be seen from his attitude at the meetings. He doesn’t even listen to him much anymore. It’s some kind of even more emotional thing than a miscalculation...

“Zelensky constantly wants some creative solutions and proposals, while Shmyhal, although he has improved in recent years, cannot completely change,” an unnamed source from Zelensky’s team told Ukrainska Pravda.

Another source reportedly familiar with the matter said this is the second time Shmyhal’s dismissal has been discussed over the last two months.

The unnamed sources said Shmyhal’s post could be taken by Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko or oil conglomerate Naftogaz’s Chairman Oleksiy Chernyshov, though the publication noted that its investigation into Chernyshov’s relationship with Semen Kryvonos, the director of National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), might have affected his candidacy.

In Ukraine, the prime minister is appointed by the president with consent from the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament.

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Shmyhal, the longest-serving prime minister in modern Ukrainian history, assumed the post in 2020 and was in charge of handling the Covid-19 pandemic and Ukrainian defense during Russia’s 2022 invasion.

Despite his role, his official salary is lower than that of some other ministers, as Kyiv Post discovered in May.