Zelenskyy still undecided on new head of Presidential Office
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has not yet decided who will become the new head of his Office, with candidates including Mykhailo Fedorov, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation; Kyrylo Budanov, head of Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU); Defence Minister Denys Shmyhal; and First Deputy Foreign Minister Serhii Kyslytsia.
Source: Ukrainska Pravda article
Quote: "Until the last few days, the main candidate for this post was First Deputy Prime Minister Fedorov. But his radical views on personnel purges in the Presidential Office and his overly long 'list of reforms' have made the president hesitate. So Zelenskyy continues to conduct interviews with potential candidates for the post of head of the Presidential Office."
Details: Fedorov is most frequently named in government offices as the main contender for the post, along with Budanov and former prime minister and current Defence Minister Shmyhal.
But the latter option is considered unlikely. Shmyhal has only recently taken over the Defence Ministry and has just begun to bring order to its work. In addition, changing the defence minister while preparations are under way for contracting arms for 2026 is clearly not the best idea.
Quote: "It cannot be ruled out that, choosing between two candidates, Zelenskyy will choose a third option. For example, Serhii Kyslytsia, First Deputy Foreign Minister and member of the Ukrainian negotiating team with the US. Zelenskyy is most likely to announce his final decision this week. All the more so as there is no need to rush, because if Yermak's successor is chosen from among the current ministers, members of parliament will have to vote for their dismissal."
More details: As predicted by Ukrainska Pravda sources in the Ukrainian Parliament, the next plenary week on 16-19 December will begin with personnel reshuffles.
Background:
- On the morning of 28 November, Ukrainska Pravda reported that detectives from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and prosecutors from the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) had searched the then head of the Presidential Office Andrii Yermak in the government quarter.
- Later, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that he had dismissed Yermak from his post.
- According to Ukrainska Pravda sources in the president's team, the former head of the Presidential Office did not believe until the very last moment that he would be forced to resign. So when he was asked to write a letter of resignation, he lashed out at Zelenskyy in an emotional outburst filled with reproaches and accusations.
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