
Instructions from Zelenskyy
After the resignation of Denys Shmyhal's government on 16 July, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called a meeting of the Servant of the People faction. He introduced the candidate for the post of new prime minister, First Deputy Prime Minister and head of the Ministry of Economy Yuliya Svyrydenko. And the list of the new government.
The next morning, in accordance with the legislative procedure, parliamentary committees recommended that the Rada approve the president's proposal.
The parliamentary session began with President Zelenskyy's address to MPs.
The head of state outlined the priorities of the new government:
— increase the share of Ukrainian weapons in the Armed Forces of Ukraine to 50% in six months (currently 40%);
— conduct an audit of all agreements and memoranda in the field of defence and ensure their full implementation. New defence agreements with the United States will follow.
"Ukraine must become a top global security donor and arms manufacturer," the president urged.

Among the economic tasks:
maximum deregulation: elimination of duplicate state institutions and bureaucracy;
— tougher penalties for corruption and abuse;
— updating approaches to social policy: "indexation of pensions and social payments, even in wartime."
"Ukraine has solid financial reserves and is capable of pursuing an independent policy," the president assured.
The government must also provide the Armed Forces with everything they need for defence. And strengthen the diplomatic front to end the war on terms of a just peace.
What did Svyrydenko promise?
Svyrydenko also expressed her gratitude to the soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, citizens who are working for victory, and everyone "who makes it possible for Ukraine to exist." She thanked the president for his trust and the previous government team, and also outlined the main priorities for the near future.
Defence — priority No. 1:
– for the first six months — supplying the army and increasing the production of Ukrainian weapons;
— a course towards improving the technological capabilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine;
— a course towards a "domestic defence economy" and resources for increasing production.
Support for business — priority No. 2:
— the new government's mission — to support Ukrainian manufacturers and create new high-quality jobs;
— continuing deregulation;
— stopping pressure on business, a moratorium on business inspections, which has already been agreed with the president;
— preserving and scaling up successful programmes to support Ukrainian production and exports.

Audit, reduction, optimisation of state authority — priority No. 3:
— optimisation of the state apparatus;
— full audit of state expenditures;
— reduction of inefficient expenditures.
European integration and security — priority No. 4:
— Ukraine will continue its integration into the EU and NATO;
— intensify work in all areas of negotiations with the EU.
Expectations of MPs from the "female force"
According to procedure, before the appointment of the prime minister, MPs from factions and groups took the floor.

Taras Batenko from the For the Future party declared his support for Svyrydenko and his belief in her ‘female power’, which will give a new impetus to the work of the Cabinet.
Svyrydenko was also supported by MPs from the Dovira group and two splinter groups of the banned pro-Russian OPFL.
Yaroslav Zheleznyak (Holos), on the other hand, called all the promises of the new government a profanation, because ‘all this has already happened’. But ‘something prevented’ the same government officials from implementing all this over the past almost six years.
Serhiy Vlasenko (Batkivshchyna) said that Yuliya Tymoshenko's faction would not vote for the new government. Because it does not take responsibility for personnel decisions. ‘But it will support everything that will be for Ukraine’ in the further work of the new Cabinet.
The head of the European Solidarity faction, Petro Poroshenko, called on Svyrydenko to ‘work from scratch, as we agreed’.
In the end, 262 MPs voted for Svyrydenko's appointment (only 201 out of 211 present from the Servants of the People, the rest were from the former OPFL, Dovira, and For the Future departments).
After that, the MPs paused to hold formal committee meetings and recommend the approval of the entire new Cabinet of Ministers.
New government: merger of ministries, resignations
Yuliya Svyrydenko presented her team in her new role as Prime Minister:
Mykhaylo Fedorov - First Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine - Minister of Digital Transformation (promoted to First Vice Prime Minister in the new government);
Oleksiy Kuleba - Vice Prime Minister for the Restoration of Ukraine - Minister of Community and Territorial Development (retained his position in the new government);
Taras Kachka - Vice Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration (promoted - in the previous government, he was Yuliya Svyrydenko's deputy);
Matviy Bidnyy - Minister of Youth and Sports (remained in office);
Herman Halushchenko - Minister of Justice (previously headed the Ministry of Energy);
Svitlana Hrynchuk - Minister of Energy (formerly Minister of Natural Resources);
Denys Ulyutin - Minister of Social Policy, Family and Unity of Ukraine (formerly First Deputy Minister of Finance);
Nataliya Kalmykova - Minister of Veterans of Ukraine (retained);
Ihor Klymenko - Minister of Internal Affairs (reappointed);
Oksen Lisovyy - Minister of Education and Science (reappointed);
Viktor Lyashko - Minister of Health (reappointed);
Serhiy Marchenko - Minister of Finance (reappointed);
Oleksiy Sobolev - Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture (promotion, he was the First Deputy Minister of Economy).
Only the head of the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications has not been decided. According to MP Yevheniya Kravchuk (Servant of the People), Mykola Tochytskyy will be appointed permanent representative to the Council of Europe. The ministry will be spun off into an information policy agency that will be subordinated to the Ministry of Culture. ‘We are still looking for a new minister,’ she told LB.ua.
Speaking from the rostrum, the head of the Servant of the People faction, David Arakhamiya, said bluntly that this was not a new government. ‘During the war, making surprises is a wrong strategy,’ Arakhamiya said.
Sofiya Fedyna (European Solidarity) reminded the government officials that their predecessors had ignored the Rada and failed to attend committee meetings. ‘Perhaps you will be able to fix this,’ she said.
After that, 253 MPs (Servants, groups of the former OPFL, Dovira, For the Future) approved the government in a ‘package’ vote.
Separately, the Rada approved the President's nomination of Denys Shmyhal as Minister of Defence and Statistical Industry (267 votes in favour) and Andriy Sybiha as Minister of Foreign Affairs (a record 271 votes in favour of the new government).
The Foreign Minister promised that new embassies and 10 consulates would be opened by the end of the year to protect Ukrainian citizens, given the challenges of war. And former Prime Minister and new head of the Ministry of Defence Shmyhal outlined three priorities for the Ministry of Defence: ‘People, weapons, system’.
