KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko stepped down Sunday as President Volodymyr Zelensky announced fresh changes to Ukraine’s government, saying he had offered a new and important position to the former premier.
Zelensky, who has remained in office under martial law because wartime elections are prohibited, has periodically reshuffled his government in an effort to bring fresh momentum to his administration.
Svyrydenko, who has also served as Ukraine’s economy minister, was named prime minister in July 2025 at the age of 39 after playing a lead role in securing a mineral agreement between Ukraine and the United States, seen as an important way of tying U.S. interests to Ukraine’s security.
In a statement on social media, Svyrydenko said she was “proud to have had the honor of leading the government during one of the most difficult periods in Ukraine’s modern history.” She also said she had discussed “next steps” with Zelensky, but did not provide further details.
“I remain ready to serve the Ukrainian state and carry out every task aimed at strengthening Ukraine’s position, defending our national interests and bringing a just peace closer,” she said.
Zelensky announced her resignation in a post saying that Ukraine was “changing its political strategy.” He also said he had offered Svyrydenko the opportunity to lead “a new, important area” in Ukraine’s relations with a key international partner.
“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,” Zelensky said, describing the impending reshuffle.
The Ukrainian leader also said there would be changes among the top ranks of Ukraine’s law enforcement agencies.
Zelensky met with a series of senior officials following the announcement, including Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko and Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.
The overhaul, which Zelensky has yet to explain in detail, would be the fourth major reorganization of his government since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
Ukraine continues strikes against Russian oil sites
Elsewhere, a Ukrainian attack in southwestern Russia killed one person and wounded three more, local officials said Sunday, as Kyiv’s forces continued to bombard Russia’s oil facilities.
The head of Russia’s Samara region, Gov. Vyacheslav Fedorishchev, said a child was among the injured. He also said residential homes and apartment buildings were damaged in the strike, as well as an unspecified “industrial site.”
Russian news outlets reported that the attack’s target was the region’s Syzran oil refinery, with many sharing images that appeared to show plumes of black smoke rising over the site. The refinery, which is owned by oil and gas giant Rosneft and sits some 500 miles east of the border, has been a repeated target of Ukrainian forces.
Meanwhile, the governor of Russia’s Rostov region, Yuri Slyusar, said a tanker had been damaged in a drone attack in the Azov-Black Sea maritime canal. The tanker was empty and there is no threat of an oil spill, Slyusar said.
Ukraine’s drone strikes on oil refineries and other infrastructure across Russia have triggered a widespread fuel crisis with gasoline shortages and rationing in multiple regions and motorists waiting hours to fill their tanks. Moscow has responded by intensifying its bombardment of Kyiv and other cities, exposing Ukraine’s vulnerability to ballistic missile strikes.
Zelensky has described the strikes on Russia’s energy infrastructure as part of Kyiv’s campaign of “long-range sanctions” carried out in response to Moscow’s refusal to halt the war.
Also Sunday, Russia’s Ministry of Defense said it had attacked the ports of Odesa and Chornomorsk in Ukraine’s Odesa region. Ukrainian officials have not yet commented on the claims.
Kullab writes for the Associated Press.
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