Yesterday, 16 July 2025, the Verkhovna Rada accepted the resignation of the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Denys Shmyhal. He held the post for over five years — longer than any of his predecessors.
The term of this Government can generally be characterised as one of constant crisis. Just days after its formation, quarantine measures were introduced in Ukraine due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Then, on 24 February 2022, the full-scale invasion by the russian federation began, forcing state institutions to respond swiftly to threats to national security. Under normal, peacetime circumstances, this Government would have already resigned following the election of a new Verkhovna Rada. However, due to the constitutional prohibition on holding parliamentary elections during martial law, both Members of Parliament and the Prime Minister have remained in their posts. At the same time, Denys Shmyhal’s resignation triggers the dismissal of the entire Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. Therefore, the change affects not only the head of Government but also the majority of ministries, which will undoubtedly impact the future development of the public administration system.
Legal Grounds for Government Renewal
In the new Government, Denys Shmyhal is expected to take on the role of Minister of Defence of Ukraine. Despite not having the corresponding constitutional authority, the President has proposed Yuliia Svyrydenko — currently Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Economy — for the post of Prime Minister. Under the Constitution of Ukraine, the initiative to nominate candidates to the Cabinet of Ministers lies with the coalition of parliamentary factions (or, in the case of the 9th convocation of the Verkhovna Rada, the so-called mono-majority The parliamentary faction, which includes the majority of MPs from the constitutional composition. The proposal of the coalition is the basis for the President's nomination of candidates for the post of Prime Minister of Ukraine. The Minister of Defence of Ukraine and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine are appointed by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine upon the proposal of the President of Ukraine, while other members of the Cabinet are appointed by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine upon the proposal of the Prime Minister of Ukraine, to whom the coalition also submits proposals for candidates. ).
Some Members of Parliament, however, refer to Article 10 of the Law of Ukraine “On the Legal Regime of Martial Law”, which stipulates that the powers of certain state bodies — including the Cabinet of Ministers — cannot be terminated during martial law. A group of MPs has even registered a draft law proposing to remove this restriction in relation to the Cabinet. Nonetheless, despite the stance of some lawmakers, it appears that the Ukrainian Parliament does not intend to act on this proposal or amend the law before proceeding with the Government reshuffle.
The Constitution does not impose any restrictions on changing the composition of the Cabinet of Ministers during martial law; such provisions must be detailed at the legislative level. The authors of Article 10 of the Law of Ukraine “On the Legal Regime of Martial Law” likely did not intend to introduce a blanket prohibition on replacing the Prime Minister. Rather, these provisions were meant to protect the state from a potential coup — where the President, the Verkhovna Rada (at least theoretically), or a group of military officials might attempt to dismiss the Cabinet and assume its powers themselves.
According to the Constitution, a Cabinet whose resignation has been accepted by the Verkhovna Rada continues to exercise its powers until a newly formed Government begins its work. As past practice shows, the most recent change of Government in March 2020 — which involved both the dismissal and appointment — took just one plenary day. Therefore, a lengthy transitional period is not anticipated.
Consequences of Government Renewal
Once the transitional period ends — even if it lasts less than a day — the new Cabinet of Ministers will be faced with the consequences of the government change:
Withdrawal of Draft Laws
The outgoing Government will take its legislative initiatives with it. According to the Rules of Procedure of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, any draft law submitted by the Cabinet of Ministers is considered withdrawn if the Cabinet’s powers are terminated before the draft is adopted at first reading as a basis. Such a draft law is then removed With appropriate notes on this in a single automated system. Currently, the Parliament has more than 300 government draft laws at various stages of preparation for the first reading. from consideration. These draft laws will be returned to their originators (ministries, other central executive bodies, etc.) for review of their relevance. The Rules of Procedure of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine stipulate that, if a withdrawn draft law is deemed still relevant, it may be resubmitted to the Government for consideration within one month.
The withdrawal and subsequent resubmission of draft laws will inevitably prolong the timeline for their consideration. Even if a draft is deemed relevant by its originating body, it will still need to undergo the following steps: 1) Reconsideration by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, prior to its submission to the Verkhovna Rada; 2) Review within parliamentary committees and structural divisions of the Secretariat of the Verkhovna Rada, responsible for conducting expert assessments of draft legislation.
Changes in Ministerial Leadership
The resignation and formation of a new Government involves more than just a change of ministers. Under the Law of Ukraine “On Central Executive Authorities”, the dismissal of a minister automatically results in the dismissal of their first deputy and deputy ministers. For some deputy ministers, this is likely to be a formality, as they will probably be reappointed; however, deputies serving under ministers who lose their posts will be less fortunate. Changes in ministry leadership will bring shifts in policy direction, new priorities, and potentially alterations to the ministry’s organisational structure.
Changes in ministry leadership and organisational structure are typically accompanied by up to six months of delays involving paperwork, reapproval of regulations, staff reappointments, and behind-the-scenes personnel struggles. During this period, the effectiveness of government bodies tends to be low. A recent and illustrative example of such “grand state-building” is the Ministry for National Unity, established at the end of last year. While the number of issued regulatory acts is not a definitive measure of its effectiveness, it is notable that the Ministry registered only one order with the Ministry of Justice during its entire existence — concerning criteria for reserving conscripts Criteria for determining enterprises, institutions and organisations under its jurisdiction as those that are of great importance for the national economy, which allows for the reservation of employees liable for military service in such enterprises, institutions and organisations. .
The Ministry for National Unity lasted for around half a year and is now, according to rumours, likely to be merged elsewhere. A swift and polished solution has proven ineffective. Tangible results are plainly absent — but realistically, they could not have been expected after just six months spent primarily on organisational and staffing matters to get basic operations off the ground. This leaves one inevitable question: has the time already come to start placing bets on which ministries will next be split, merged, dissolved, or newly created by the end of 2025?
A New Programme of Activity of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine?
The previous revised Programme of the Cabinet of Ministers led by Denys Shmyhal was never approved by the Verkhovna Rada, despite the direct requirement of the Constitution. The newly formed Cabinet will have up to one month to submit its Programme of Activity to Parliament. It remains unclear whether this Programme will be based on the President’s “priority tasks” or on the coordinated political positions and policy commitments of the ruling coalition, as stipulated by the Law of Ukraine “On the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine”. Once approved, however, the Programme effectively grants the Government a form of political immunity: under the Constitution, the Verkhovna Rada cannot consider a motion of no confidence in the Cabinet for one year following the Programme’s approval. Nevertheless, as Ukrainian political pragmatism has shown, this does not preclude the Government’s dismissal by other means — for instance, through the collective resignation of the Cabinet before a newly elected Parliament or following the resignation of the Prime Minister.
The Programme of Activity of the Cabinet of Ministers is a key constitutional document around which the entire decision-making process — including legislative activity, the work of the Cabinet of Ministers, and the functioning of the Verkhovna Rada — should be structured. Despite holding office longer than any of his predecessors, Denys Shmyhal never succeeded in having his government’s programme approved by Parliament. The new Cabinet is being appointed just ahead of yet another announced 50-day russian offensive. Naturally, public and political attention will be focused on the front line, not on the rearrangement of chairs in ministerial offices. Yet it is precisely during this period that Ukraine’s core strategic governance document must be drafted and adopted. This will serve as a key indicator of whether the government reshuffle will result in meaningful reform of public administration — or whether we will once again be presented with “creative” and “honest” excuses for why it didn’t happen.
The government reshuffle is a fait accompli; however, this fact alone does not resolve questions about its justification or its alignment with current challenges. The change of government should not be a mere formality — a simple “musical chairs” exercise involving unjustified restructuring of ministries, which could halt government operations for a considerable period, merely as a way to release steam, especially given that neither the Parliament nor the President can be changed at this time.
