Zelenskyy Removes Defense Minister and Accepts Prime Minister Resignation Ahead of Winter

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ousted Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov on Wednesday, one day after parliament accepted Yulia Svyrydenko's resignation as prime minister, @CBSNews reported. Zelenskyy stated the leadership changes aim to prepare Ukraine for another difficult winter and strengthen relations with key foreign partners.

He wrote on X that Ukraine is changing its political strategy, with each priority area of foreign policy assigned to a specific person with substantial experience.

"The same applies to our domestic work… Preparing for winter is an extremely important priority, and Ukraine must be ready for every threat that may arise," Zelenskyy wrote. Last winter was Ukraine's harshest since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, when Russia struck the energy grid and caused weeks-long power and heating outages.

Oleg Dunda, a member of Ukraine's parliament, said the Svyrydenko cabinet failed to prepare adequately for winter and that implementation of resilience plans was unsatisfactory.

Serhiy Koretskyi, CEO of Ukraine's state energy giant Navtozgaz, is expected to replace Svyrydenko as prime minister. Yuriy Sak, an adviser to Ukraine's Ministry of Strategic Industries, described Koretskyi as a real technocrat. Zelenskyy is expected to appoint Svyrydenko as Ukraine's ambassador to the United States.

She has close relationships with members of the Trump administration, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, from work on the critical minerals deal last year. Ukraine's current ambassador in Washington, Olha Stefanishyna, submitted her resignation this week.

Fedorov, a 35-year-old tech entrepreneur with ties to Silicon Valley, became defense chief in January after leading technological reforms at the Ministry of Digital Transformation.

He is credited with recent battlefield successes, including efforts to cut off fuel and logistics flows to Crimea. Following a meeting with Fedorov, Zelenskyy wrote on X that the transformation of processes within Ukraine's Defense Forces must continue to sustain warriors' motivation and ensure brigades are properly staffed.