Why is Zelenskyy overhauling Ukraine’s government amid battlefield successes against Russia?

Kyiv — Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy continued his push to overhaul the country’s top leadership by ousting Defense Minister Mikhailo Fedorov on Wednesday, just a day after parliament accepted Yulia Svyrydenko’s resignation as prime minister. The move has surprised many observers who credit the outgoing cabinet with Ukraine’s recent successes in countering Russia’s ongoing full-scale invasion.

Zelenskyy says the changes are aimed at preparing Ukraine for another difficult winter and strengthening relations with key foreign partners. But officials and lawmakers say the reshuffle also reflects broader political calculations inside Kyiv.

“Ukraine is changing its political strategy. Each priority area of foreign policy will be assigned to a specific person with substantial experience who is capable of implementing what we agree on at the leaders’ level and what the Ukrainian people expect,” Zelenskyy wrote on X. “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.”

The initial changes have indicated he’s serious about both priorities. Last winter was Ukraine’s harshest since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. As Russia hammered the country’s energy grid, cities endured weeks-long power and heating outages. Officials have warned that the government has not taken the steps necessary to prevent the same thing from happening this winter.

“The reason was the Svyrydenko cabinet’s failure to prepare adequately for the winter,” Oleg Dunda, a member of Ukraine’s parliament, told CBS News. “As far as I know, the implementation of the resilience plans was unsatisfactory. And so the question arose: Either try to strengthen this area in time, or let this cabinet take full responsibility.”

Svyrydenko’s likely replacement as prime minister, Serhiy Koretskyi, the CEO of Ukraine’s state energy giant Navtozgaz, may be well-positioned to address the shortcomings. 

“He is a real technocrat,” Yuriy Sak, an adviser to Ukraine’s Ministry of Strategic Industries, told CBS News. “The winter is coming, and there is a need to strengthen the energy sector and efficiency.”

Zelenskyy is expected to make Svyrydenko Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States. Officials say she has close relationships with members of the Trump administration, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, dating back to their work on the “critical minerals deal” last year. 

Ukraine’s current ambassador in Washington, Olha Stefanishyna, submitted her resignation this week. 

But while some personnel shifts do track clearly with stated Ukrainian government priorities, others have confounded lawmakers and officials. Rumors that Zelenskyy could replace Fedorov at the Defense Ministry with current Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko have drawn considerable pushback.

Fedorov, a 35-year-old tech entrepreneur with close ties to Silicon Valley, became the defense chief in January after spearheading technological reforms at Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation. He is widely credited with Ukraine’s recent battlefield successes, including a campaign to cut off fuel and logistics flows to Crimea, the southern Ukrainian peninsula occupied by Russia since 2014. 

Several officials told CBS News that Fedorov’s growing popularity has led some in Kyiv to view him as a potential political rival to Zelenskyy, and the Economist reported this week that there had been friction between Fedorov and some of Ukraine’s top generals, including the commander of the armed forces Oleksandr Syrskyi. 

A spokesman for Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense said the observations in the Economist article were gathered before Zelenskyy announced the reshuffle of his government, and they would not offer any further comment. 

As of Wednesday afternoon, Zelenskyy had announced no decision on any further moves in his shake-up, but he held meetings with Koretskiy, the likely new prime minister, as well as acting Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, Minister of Internal Affairs Klymenko, and Fedorov. 

“The transformation of all processes within Ukraine’s Defense Forces that can sustain the motivation of our warriors must also continue, along with efforts to ensure that combat brigades are properly staffed. We all understand the challenges,” Zelenskyy wrote on X following his meeting with Fedorov. “It is important that the necessary leadership in the defense sector delivers results.”