Top Cabinet Posts Vacant After Defense Minister-Army Chief Clash

Session Ends Without Voting on Defense or Foreign Minister Lawmakers Oleksiy Honcharenko and Yaroslav Zheleznyak confirmed that there will be no more voting today. Session closed. So, Ukraine is, technically, without a formal defense minister and foreign minister for now. It is unclear when the next session will take place – some reports suggest the Verkhovna Rada plenary session is on Aug. 18, so hopefully there’ll be some contingency plan. In addition, there are no formal heads of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine (SZRU), as the two posts go through similar procedures, according to Honcharenko and Zheleznyak. Brief Recap on Kyiv’s Latest Political Crisis Here’s a brief timeline of the political rollercoaster in Ukraine this week On Sunday, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced a government reshuffle and the removal of former Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko. She was reportedly offered the role of envoy to Washington, which she reportedly rejected. Svyrydenko officially resigned on Tuesday, with her cabinet subsequently dissolved after the parliament voted to confirm her dismissal. Then, late on Wednesday evening, reports began surfacing that Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov was leaving his post after around 6 months in office. Zelensky and Fedorov himself later confirmed that it stemmed from disputes with Oleksandr Syrsky, the commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces. A day later, Fedorov accused Syrsky and the military top brass of sowing divisions and blocking reform initiatives at a surprise press briefing, though Syrsky has been relatively quiet and, in his response, thanked Fedorov for his work and said he wished he would remain on the team. Ukrainians are not happy since Fedorov has been seen as a major reform figure and helped remove the Soviet bureaucracy. Massive protests ensued, though Zelensky said the anger is justified. Comes voting time on Thursday afternoon – the parliament approved former Naftogaz Chairman Serhiy Koretskiy as the new prime minister, as many expected earlier, and hours later approved his cabinet proposals, leaving just the foreign and defense minister posts undecided since they are to be voted on separately. But now, with popular protests calling for Fedorov’s reinstatement, the country now needs to figure out who will fill that position – Fedorov or former Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, who was chosen by Zelensky for the post before the public uproar. Or it could also be someone else – and that’s the crisis in a nutshell. Parliament to Deliberate on Defense Minister Appointment As mentioned earlier, the defense and foreign ministers are to be considered separately. So far there are no signs that current Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha will leave his post. However, opposition lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak said the Verkhovna Rada is now holding consultations on the appointment of the defense minister. “It is very likely that nothing will happen today on personnel issues,” he added. In an earlier update citing his own sources, he said the candidate, former Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, has refused to take up the defense minister post – but now, with the cabinet already approved, Klymenko might go without a ministerial position at all. 264 Lawmakers Back New Cabinet Just in – lawmaker Oleksiy Honcharenko said 264 lawmakers have backed Koretskyi’s new cabinet. Here was the list he shared earlier: Denys Shmyhal as First Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine - Minister of Energy Tetyana Berezhna as Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine for Humanitarian Policy - Minister of Culture; Vsevolod Chentsov as Vice Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration; Vitaliy Bezgin as Minister for Communities, Territories and Internally Displaced Persons; Matviy Bidny as Minister of Youth and Sports; Andriy Butenko as Minister of Education and Science; Ivan Vyhivskyi as Minister of Internal Affairs; Taras Vysotsky as Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food; Mykola Kalashnyk as Minister of Reconstruction, Infrastructure and Transport; Vitaliy Kim as Minister for Veterans Affairs; Oleksandr Kravchenko as Minister of Economy and Environment; Viktor Lyashko as Minister of Health; Serhiy Marchenko as Minister of Finance; Denys Maslov as Minister of Justice; Denys Ulyutin as Minister of Social Policy, Family and Unity; Oksana Ferchuk as Minister of Digital Transformation. Why’s the situation a big deal? For a country at war, having an open spat between the defense minister and the commander-in-chief over reforms is not a good thing. But on top of that, the parliament is also set to vote for a new cabinet – and the widespread outrage means it remains unclear who will fill the defense minister role. If the parliament and government cannot agree on the new defense minister, Ukraine could end up without one. This is likely why they’re trying to find a way to resolve the situation. Voting to start soon Lawmaker Oleksiy Honcharenko said in his channel that the parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, is set to decide on Koretsky’s proposed cabinet at around 4 p.m. local time. Who Has Been Nominated for the New Cabinet? According to lawmaker Oleksiy Honcharenko, the parliament is now considering the list of candidates proposed by newly appointed prime minister Serhiy Koretskyi for his new cabinet Denys Shmyhal as First Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine - Minister of Energy Tetyana Berezhna as Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine for Humanitarian Policy - Minister of Culture; Vsevolod Chentsov as Vice Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration; Vitaliy Bezgin as Minister for Communities, Territories and Internally Displaced Persons; Matviy Bidny as Minister of Youth and Sports; Andriy Butenko as Minister of Education and Science; Ivan Vyhivskyi as Minister of Internal Affairs; Taras Vysotsky as Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food; Mykola Kalashnyk as Minister of Reconstruction, Infrastructure and Transport; Vitaliy Kim as Minister for Veterans Affairs; Oleksandr Kravchenko as Minister of Economy and Environment; Viktor Lyashko as Minister of Health; Serhiy Marchenko as Minister of Finance; Denys Maslov as Minister of Justice; Denys Ulyutin as Minister of Social Policy, Family and Unity; Oksana Ferchuk as Minister of Digital Transformation. What about the defense and finance ministers? Under Ukrainian law, the two positions are to be considered separately after the cabinet was dissolved on Tuesday following the dismissal of former Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko. After Defense Minister Myhailo Fedorov’s resignation/removal, the parliament needs to vote for his dismissal and vote again on his replacement proposed by President Volodymyr Zelensky. Former Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko was proposed as the new defense minister, though he has reportedly turned down the offer amid widespread outrage over Fedorov’s dismissal.