Coordinating with the change in the position of US President Donald Trump regarding resuming arms supplies to Kiev, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenski appointed Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, Yulia Svyrydenko, as Prime Minister replacing Denys Shmyhal. The change also affects the Minister of Defense. Rustem Umerov is stepping down to become the ambassador to the US, and he is replaced by the outgoing Shmigal.
Today, lawmakers voted in favor of the government's reshuffle, and Parliament is expected to confirm the nominations tomorrow, marking an important restructuring of the Executive during wartime, with Russia opposing a ceasefire. Svyrydenko was a key negotiator with the US in the rare earths negotiations.
Trump has issued a 50-day ultimatum to Moscow to stop the fighting. This timeframe allows Russia to complete its summer offensive in Ukraine, according to analysts of the over three-year war in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian Air Force has reported the nighttime launch of an Iskander-M ballistic missile and 400 drones in different areas. Kharkiv reported two deaths, Sumy reported another, a 17-year-old boy was seriously injured in Kryvyi Rih, Zelenski's hometown, and eight were injured in Vinnytsia.
Kiev is awaiting the delivery of Patriot missile systems to defend against these intensified Russian attacks over the past two months. However, analysts also suggest that deliveries may take months or even years to materialize.
Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, New Ambassador to the US
Zelenski announced that the current Defense Minister, Rustem Umerov, who participated in negotiations with Russia, will become the ambassador to the United States, as reported by Afp.
"Ukraine needs a more positive dynamic in its relations with the United States and, at the same time, take new steps in managing the defense sector," Zelenski told Umerov in a meeting last week.
US President Donald Trump openly criticized his predecessor Joe Biden's policy of providing billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine but agreed to NATO members purchasing weapons for Kiev.
According to analyst Volodymyr Fesenko, "the key issue in bilateral relations between the United States and Ukraine at this moment is weapons."
"The second issue is negotiations to end the war. Umerov has been involved in both," he added.
The outgoing Prime Minister, Denis Shmigal, with a more technocratic profile, will assume the role of Defense Minister, Zelenski noted.
A Prime Minister with US ties
The President proposed that the Minister of Economy, Yulia Sviridenko, replace Denis Shmigal as Prime Minister, according to Afp.
Sviridenko sealed the agreement with the United States on Ukrainian natural resources (rare earths) that was on the verge of derailing relations between the two countries.
"She was the key person and the only one leading these negotiations. She managed to prevent them from failing," said Timofiy Milovanov, a former Minister of Economy who worked with Sviridenko.
Several analysts noted that the minister earned the respect of her American counterparts, including high-ranking government officials.
At 39 years old, Sviridenko also has the trust of Ukrainian entrepreneurs for her management of the economy in a country at war, noted Andy Hunder, President of the American Chamber of Commerce.
Svyrydenko, US negotiator in rare earths negotiations
Ukraine's President, Volodymyr Zelenski (left) and Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, Yulia Svyrydenko.YOAN VALAT | AFP
Ukrainian Parliament votes to dismiss Prime Minister in wartime reshuffle
The Ukrainian Parliament voted on Wednesday to dismiss the Prime Minister, Denys Shmyhal, as part of a Government reshuffle aimed at strengthening economic and military management during wartime.
Vice Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, appointed by President Volodymyr Zelenski this week, is the sole candidate to lead the new government.
Poland accuses Russia of drone attack on its factory in Ukraine
Poland accused Russia on Thursday of attacking a factory of a Polish wood flooring group in Vinnytsia, in southwestern Ukraine, in a bombing raid on the region that caused at least eight injuries.
"Russian drones attacked the Barlinek Group factory in Vinnytsia. The plant manager just told me it was intentional, from three directions," said Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski on social media X.
Ukrainian emergency services are on site, including personnel from the Polish consulate, he said, denouncing Russian President Vladimir Putin's "criminal war" approaching their borders, referring to Poland.
The State Emergency Service of Ukraine (DSNS) reported that eight people were injured and hospitalized due to the attack. According to Sikorski, two of the injured suffered severe burns.
Russia sentences Paraguayan mercenary to 24 years in prison in absentia
A Russian military court sentenced Paraguayan citizen Jorge Adrián Lugo Jiménez to 24 years in prison on Wednesday for participating as a mercenary in the invasion of the Russian border region of Kursk in Ukraine, reported Efe.
"The citizen of the Republic of Paraguay is sentenced to 24 years in prison," announced the judge of the court of the second Western military district cited by the TASS agency.
Russian authorities are waiting for the convict to cross the Russian border or be extradited for the sentence to be carried out.
In recent years, Russian justice has imposed various sentences against foreigners accused of fighting for the Ukrainian Army, both in absentia and against captured soldiers.
Russia launches offensive in several points on the Donetsk front
The Russian army has launched an offensive at several points on the front in the Donetsk region in an attempt to break through Ukrainian defenses, which are struggling to withstand the enemy onslaught, reported Efe.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry on Wednesday, the troops of the Tsentr (Center) military group attacked the positions of at least four mechanized brigades, two marine infantry brigades, and two territorial defense brigades.
Russian units advanced south and east of the strategic stronghold of Pokrovsk, the main target of the current offensive in the Donbas. According to the war report, Russian soldiers are just a few kilometers from the outskirts of this transport hub, which had over 60,000 inhabitants before the war.
Russia also intensified its operations between Toretsk, where Ukrainians have been resisting the siege for months, and the town of Kostiantynivka, whose control would allow Moscow to advance inexorably towards northern Donetsk.
Defense reported fierce fighting in small villages leading to the two main Ukrainian strongholds: Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.
The rest of the advances would take place on the border between Donetsk and the Dnipropetrovsk region, where the Russians captured the town of Novohatske.