Ukraine's parliament has voted in favour of a motion to appoint Yulia Svyrydenko as the country's new prime minister.
The 39-year-old economist was Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s only nominee for the role.
In a speech to parliament, Mr Zelensky said he expected his new government to increase the share of domestic weapons on Ukraine's battlefield to 50% from 40% within six months.
He also singled out deregulation and expanding economic co-operation with allies as other key aims of the biggest government reshuffle since Russia's February 2022 invasion.
A photograph of the parliament’s electronic voting screen, posted on Telegram by member of parliament Yaroslav Zheleznyak, showed that 262 deputies voted in favour of Ms Svyrydenko’s nomination, with 22 votes against and 26 abstentions.
Ms Svyrydenko has served as the country’s first deputy prime minister and minister of economy since 2021 and oversaw the terms of a crucial minerals deal with the United States in May.
That agreement, which established a joint fund between Kyiv and Washington to extract key Ukrainian minerals, went a long way to securing continued US support for Ukraine.
Only two months previously, US-Ukraine relations had soured after a disastrous Oval Office meeting between Mr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump.
The minerals deal signed by Ms Svyrydenko was widely viewed as being more favourable to Ukraine than the original format proposed by the Trump administration, with Ukraine maintaining ownership over its natural resources and infrastructure.
"War leaves no room for delay. We must act swiftly and decisively," Ms Svyrydenko posted this morning on X after the vote.
"Our priorities for the first six months are clear: reliable supply for the army, expansion of domestic weapons production, and boosting the technological strength of our defence forces".
Outgoing prime minister Denys Shmyhal ended his five-year tenure yesterday when parliament voted to accept his resignation, part of Mr Zelensky’s largest cabinet reshuffle of the war.
Mr Zelensky has proposed Mr Shmyhal for the role of defence minister, while serving defence minister Rustem Umerov has been tipped to become Ukraine’s new ambassador to the US.
Ms Svyrydenko becomes Ukraine’s second female prime minister after Yulia Tymoshenko, who led two Ukrainian governments in the 2000s.
Additional reporting Reuters
