The Verkhovna Rada has refused to appoint Denys Shmyhal as First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy. The relevant decision was voted for by 210 MPs out of the minimum required 226, the Ukrainian News agency reports.
After the vote, Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk announced a break for consultations.
Shmyhal, 50, has been serving as Defense Minister since July 2025.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, on Tuesday, January 13, the Verkhovna Rada dismissed Shmyhal from the post of Defense Minister.
On January 9, Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk said that the Verkhovna Rada had received a resignation letter from Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal.
In early January, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy proposed that First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov become the new head of the Ministry of Defense. At the same time, Zelenskyy offered Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal the post of First Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Energy.
On November 19, amid a corruption scandal in the energy sector, the Verkhovna Rada dismissed Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk, she has held this position since July 2025, before that she was the Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources since September 2024.
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