The Cabinet reshuffle was a response to the political pause without elections – political analyst Ihor Chalenko
The reshuffling of the government in Ukraine was an attempt at internal transformation of power in the absence of elections. Political analyst and head of the Center for Analysis and Strategies Ihor Chalenko stated this in a comment to OstroV.
"There will be no elections. That’s already obvious. And in the absence of elections, there arose a need for a certain evolutionary transformation and a shift in the balance of governance in the state. With the cabinet reshuffle, they are essentially trying to ease some of the pressure", - the expert explained.
According to him, it’s not about a radical change of course but rather a reformatting within the existing model.
"We won’t get a revolutionary update, but, so to speak, a 'new government of the old Shmyhal'. That is, the technocratic approach will remain, just with new names and possibly a reduced number of ministries and a changed internal balance within the Cabinet", - Chalenko added.
The political analyst also does not see an automatic strengthening of the president’s office: "Two weeks ago, it was still possible to talk about potential control, but now the situation looks different — we’re seeing a balanced approach, and the next government can rather be called 'Zelensky’s government', where they’re trying to preserve a certain system of checks and balances".
The main directions of policy for the new Cabinet, according to the expert, will be support for entrepreneurship, strengthening of the defense sector, optimization of the state apparatus, and continued financial cooperation with the West.
"This year, the issue of external financing is practically resolved — we’re talking about 39.2 billion dollars. But for 2026, the situation is uncertain. That’s why the new government, which is now entering the budget process, has a chance to improve ukraine’s position in negotiations with international partners", - Chalenko concluded.