Ministers for the first time: who are they – the new faces of the Cabinet

This week, Ukraine received a new government. It was headed by the former chairman of the board of the Naftogaz Group, Serhiy Koretsky. Some ministers from Yulia Svyrydenko's government retained their ministerial positions, but new faces also appeared in the Cabinet of Ministers. Who they are – read in the material of UNN. 

The biggest intrigue 

But we will start with the biggest intrigue of this Cabinet composition: not with those who hold positions, but with those who are not in them.

Almost immediately after the President announced Svyrydenko's resignation, it became known that Mykhailo Fedorov would not be in the new government, at least not as Minister of Defense. This caused outrage among part of society, and some even took to the streets for protests. The main reason for Fedorov's dismissal was cited as a conflict with the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi. The existence of the conflict was eventually confirmed by Fedorov himself and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. However, this did not quell the flow of speculation regarding the real reasons for Fedorov's dismissal: supporters believe he began to break corruption schemes in the Ministry of Defense, while opponents believe that, on the contrary, he built new ones and took control of financial flows. 

Former Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba suggested the presence of some personal motive. 

"Therefore, I will make an assumption that no one is paying attention to today, but it seems to me that it is the key reason for this rift. Something personal happened between them. Most likely, the following occurred: the president found out something that affected him personally. And he could no longer trust Mykhailo the way he trusted him all these years. He trusted him maximally, believe me. There were frictions, and Yermak pressured Mykhailo regularly — that is also true, and there were various other conflicts. Well, power without conflicts is impossible. But, in the end, Mykhailo was always an irreplaceable person for the president," Kuleba suggested. 

He added that during Fedorov's seven years in the government, he tried to concentrate powers on himself as much as possible, and leading the Ministry of Defense was his dream and the peak of his career.  And during this time, he had the maximum trust of the President. 

"And, knowing the laws of power, knowing the personalities of the players involved in this process, I put forward a version that something personal broke between the president and Mykhailo. This affected the president so strongly that he could no longer trust Mykhailo, and all other processes simply piled on top of that. That is, for six months the president already saw the conflict with Syrskyi, some things, the conflict around the reform of army contracts, and now there were accusations — who produced what incorrectly, who was sabotaging whom. But Zelenskyy does not work that way. He could have called and said: 'Now this works and will work differently.' Therefore, I think there is a reason at the core of all this — it is personal. No one talks about it," Kuleba suggested. 

This assumption has a right to exist, if only because of Fedorov's press conference, which he gave before the VR vote on the new Cabinet composition, and in which he made rather harsh statements. But whatever reasons prompted the President to dismiss Fedorov – Zelenskyy clearly had no intention of making concessions to the ex-minister. Now, as expected, the new Minister of Defense will be Yevhenii Khmara. For now, he will temporarily lead the ministry. 

                                                      Yevhenii Khmara 

Major General Khmara has been the acting head of the SBU since January 2026; during this time, the president has never submitted his candidacy for the full-fledged head of the service. According to the official biography, Khmara has worked in the SBU structure for almost 15 years. He is one of those who was involved in the operation to liberate Snake Island in the summer of 2022.  

But Khmara was not the first candidate for the post of Minister of Defense considered by the head of state. According to the initial plan, the position of Minister of Defense was to be taken by the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Svyrydenko government – Ihor Klymenko. In the end, whether the head of state changed his mind, or Klymenko himself refused – he did not end up at the Ministry of Defense and will assume the position of Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council. 

Another ministerial portfolio whose fate remains uncertain is the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The candidate for this position is submitted by the head of state – Zelenskyy has not done this yet, while the former minister Andrii Sybiha has remained to act as the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but now with the acting prefix. 

New faces 

In fact, the head of government himself has taken a position in the Cabinet of Ministers for the first time. Before this, Serhii Koretskyi was the chairman of the board of the Naftogaz Group for over a year, having moved there from the position of director of "Ukrnafta" and "UkrTatNafta." Koretskyi also managed the WOG gas station network for 5 years, and before that worked at the "Continuum" holding (which owns the said gas station network). He also founded his own business – the coffee company IDEALIST coffee co. 

                                                     Serhii Koretskyi 

The new prime minister is described as a person who can make decisions quickly and build an effective management system. As an example, they cite the fact that under his leadership, the once loss-making "Ukrnafta" received UAH 40 billion in net profit for 2023–2024. After moving to the position of chairman of the board of "Naftogaz," Koretskyi initiated a full audit of the company and reduced duplicate functions. 

Despite the fact that Koretskyi is called a business person, he also has some political background. He twice served as an unpaid assistant to People's Deputy Ihor Yeremieiev (co-founder of the holding company "Continuum," which owns the WOG network. Yeremieiev died in 2015. He was a subject of anti-corruption investigations into tender fraud), as well as to People's Deputy Kateryna Vashchuk (elected to the Verkhovna Rada of the sixth convocation from the Lytvyn People's Bloc). In addition, Koretskyi unsuccessfully ran for the Verkhovna Rada – in 2006 he was in the non-passing part of the party list of the Lytvyn People's Bloc. 

Among the main tasks as prime minister, Koretskyi named the full provision of the Defense Forces of Ukraine, scaling up the Ukrainian defense-industrial complex, and preparation for winter. 

The position of Minister of Internal Affairs was given to Ivan Vyhivskyi, who has worked for many years in various positions in the structures of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the police. For three years, Vyhivskyi headed the National Police. 

                                                         Ivan Vyhivskyi 

The country's top police officer appeared in journalistic investigations; it turned out that LLC "Yugnefteprodukt" of Vyhivskyi's sister traded for several years with subjects of criminal proceedings of the National Police itself. In addition, investigators pointed out that his relatives had acquired various assets for which they did not have the funds. 

Minister for Restoration, Infrastructure and Transport of Ukraine Mykola Kalashnyk headed the Kyiv Regional State Administration for about a year, before that he was the deputy head of the KODA. He began his career as a customs broker, after which he worked for several years in various positions at the Darnytsia District State Administration of the capital, and headed this administration for two years, albeit as acting head.  

                                                   Mykola Kalashnyk 

Minister of Veterans Affairs Vitaliy Kim has headed the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration since 2020. Kim became known nationwide at the beginning of the full-scale invasion thanks to his videos in which he spoke about the defense of the Mykolaiv region from the enemy. Before Kim assumed the position of head of the Mykolaiv RSA, he was engaged in his own business and held leading positions in a number of companies in the region. 

                                                           Vitaliy Kim 

For the first time, career diplomat Vsevolod Chentsov joined the government, taking the position of Vice Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine. Before that, Chentsov worked in various positions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the embassies of Ukraine in Poland, Turkey, and the Mission of Ukraine to the EU.  In 2017, he became the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Netherlands. Since 2021, he has headed the Mission of Ukraine to the European Union. 

                                               Vsevolod Chentsov

Minister of Communities, Territories and Internally Displaced Persons of Ukraine Vitaliy Bezgin - now a former MP from "Servant of the People". In parliament, Bezgin was in charge of building local government and carrying out decentralization.

                                                   Vitaliy Bezgin

Another "servant" – Denys Maslov, has taken the post of Minister of Justice. Maslov is a former judge of the Dniprovskyi District Court of the city of Dniprodzerzhynsk, and also practiced as a lawyer. 

                                                     Denys Maslov