Explained: Why Zelensky wants Yulia Svyrydenko as Ukraine's PM and what her leadership could look like

In this handout photograph taken and released by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Service on July 14, 2025, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky (L) attends a meeting with Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko (R) in Kyiv.

In a sweeping political reshuffle, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has nominated Yulia Svyrydenko as the country’s next Prime Minister, replacing Denys Shmyhal, who is now set to take over as Defence Minister. If confirmed by Parliament, Svyrydenko will become only the second woman to hold the office in Ukraine’s history, after Yulia Tymoshenko. Given that Zelensky’s party holds a majority in the Verkhovna Rada, her confirmation is considered a formality.

This nomination, announced on July 15, 2025, comes at a crucial moment for Ukraine as it continues to resist Russia’s invasion while managing a battered economy, rising war costs, and its ongoing European Union accession efforts.

Yulia Anatoliivna Svyrydenko, born on December 25, 1985, in Chernihiv, Ukraine, is a trained economist and currently serves as First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy. She is widely regarded as one of the most competent technocrats in Zelensky’s government, credited with handling key aspects of Ukraine’s wartime economy, defence production, and international economic diplomacy.

She graduated from the Kyiv National University of Trade and Economics in 2008, and after a short stint in the private sector, she transitioned into public service by 2015. Her early work included overseeing foreign investment projects in Chernihiv and serving as head of the economic development department in the region. Under her watch, Chernihiv reportedly attracted $340 million in foreign investment, according to Ukrainian media reports.

By 2019, President Zelensky brought her into the national fold, and she was rapidly promoted to key positions. In 2021, just months before Russia’s full-scale invasion, she was appointed First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Economy.

According to reports and statements from government officials, Svyrydenko was instrumental in managing Ukraine’s wartime economy. She oversaw emergency economic stabilization, coordinated international financial support, and was a key figure in crafting recovery frameworks with the EU and G7 partners.

She also played a critical role in ramping up domestic defence production, an increasingly vital need as Ukraine seeks to reduce its dependency on Western arms shipments. Her leadership in coordinating Ukraine’s economic diplomacy was widely praised, especially for her negotiation of mineral agreements with the Trump administration in the US.

“She was the only and main leader of this conversation. If she had not been there, the agreement might have broken,” former Economy Minister Timofey Milovanov told Ukrainian media, referring to Svyrydenko’s successful renegotiation of the US-Ukraine deal that secured favourable terms despite initial demands for greater American control over strategic sectors.

With the war against Russia grinding into its third year, Ukraine’s priorities have expanded beyond the battlefield. While military resilience remains paramount, Zelensky’s government is increasingly focusing on economic revival, boosting domestic defence production, and accelerating post-war reconstruction. The nomination of Svyrydenko, a seasoned economist and the country’s current Economy Minister, signals a strategic pivot: strengthening Ukraine’s internal capacity through economic resilience and institutional efficiency.

The shift also includes a cabinet reshuffle, with current Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal nominated to become Ukraine’s new Defence Minister, replacing Rustem Umerov, whose tenure faced criticism over procurement inefficiencies. Zelensky called Shmyhal a “qualified manager” with the right experience to manage Ukraine’s most critical portfolio.

Following her nomination, Svyrydenko laid out her priorities in an Instagram post: “I am grateful to President Volodymyr Zelensky for his trust – and for the opportunity to serve Ukraine at this crucial time. The Head of State identified the priority tasks he sees before the updated government: strengthening Ukraine’s economic potential; expansion of Ukrainian support programs; scaling up the production of own weapons.”

She also emphasised the need for:

• Tangible deregulation and reduction of bureaucracy
• Cutting non-essential state expenditure
• Supporting entrepreneurship and innovation
• Concentrating state resources on defence and recovery
• Providing clearer social support tools for veterans and military families

“The state apparatus has no right to waste resources and potential of our country. Ukraine deserves to be among the strongest economies of Europe,” she added.