Rada dismisses Shmyhal, Fedorov and Malyuk, but fails to make new appointments
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on 13 January supported the resignation of Defence Minister Denys Shmyhal, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov, and Head of the Security Service of Ukraine Vasyl Malyuk. The decisions are part of a large-scale reset of the government initiated by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
265 MPs voted in favour of dismissing Denys Shmyhal from the post of Defence Minister. His resignation was supported by the majority of the Servant of the People faction. Shmyhal headed the government from March 2020 to July 2025, becoming the longest-serving prime minister in Ukraine's history. He was appointed Minister of Defence in July 2025.
The Rada supported the resignation of Mykhailo Fedorov with 270 votes. During his speech in the Parliament, he reported on the work of the Ministry of Digital Transformation, stressing that in 6.5 years Ukraine has become one of the top five world leaders in terms of digital public services. According to him, 23 million citizens use the Diia app, and digitalisation has saved the state and society UAH 184 billion.
Also, 235 MPs voted to dismiss Vasyl Malyuk from the post of the head of the SBU. The head of the Alpha Special Operations Centre, Major General Yevhen Khmara, was appointed as the interim head of the service.
At the same time, Bankova's personnel plans faced serious resistance during the voting for new appointments. The Rada did not support the candidacy of Denys Shmyhal for the post of First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy. Only 210 deputies voted for the relevant resolution out of the required 226. Similarly, there were not enough votes to appoint Mykhailo Fedorov as Defence Minister, with 206 votes cast for him.
Despite the fact that the parliament's specialised committees had previously approved both candidates, the plenary session showed that there was no stable majority for these decisions. After the vote failed, the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada announced a break for consultations with the factions.
President Zelenskyy previously explained the large-scale personnel changes as a need to prepare the state for any scenario of the war, including in the event of a breakdown in negotiations to end hostilities. According to him, the reset of the government should ensure effective governance in the face of a prolonged war and possible new challenges.
President, Zelensky, Shmyhal, Fedorov, Malyuk, Khmara, VRU
