President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday announced his delegation to the Ukraine Recovery Conference, which starts in Rome on Thursday, July 10.
Zelensky tapped his First Deputy Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko is to lead the team, which includes Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and several other high-ranking members of Zelensky’s cabinet.
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The designations come at a time when the president is reportedly considering a major reshuffle of his cabinet, including a change at the prime minister’s post, and will be replacing Ukraine’s Ambassador to the United States.
According to speculation in the Ukrainian media, Svyrydenko is also being considered as a replacement for Denys Shmyhal as Prime Minister. (In Ukraine, the prime minister is appointed by the president and serves with the consent of the Verkhovna Rada.)
Sybiha on Tuesday confirmed news reports that Zelensky intends to replace ambassadors to each of the G7 countries, which includes the US.
Earlier in the day, a Ukrainian news outlet, Suspilne, citing “a source in the Presidential Office,” reported that Zelensky had informed Markarova of the pending dismissal, but it was not final.
The update followed a Bloomberg report on Monday that Zelensky discussed Markarova’s potential replacement with Shmyhal (who will not be in Rome) during his Friday call with US President Donald Trump.
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“We should probably expect about 20 decrees that will dismiss and appoint new heads of foreign missions,” Sybiha told Ukraine Radio on Tuesday.
He called Markarova “one of our most successful ambassadors.”
“She is extremely effective and charismatic, but every diplomat has a rotation cycle. ...President Zelensky’s vision is to rotate the emissaries in all countries of the G7 and G20. That is, to strengthen ties with these countries, especially the US,” Sybiha added.
In a separate interview, the foreign minister noted: “The geopolitical situation requires the diplomatic service to find new approaches and arguments that are adapted to reality. Therefore, the president has made certain personnel decisions regarding the heads of some foreign ministry institutions, because the yardstick is very simple: results.”
The rest of the Ukrainian delegation to Rome includes:
- Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko
- Defense Minister Rustem Umerov
- Agriculture Minister Vitalii Koval
- Infrastructure Minister Oleksii Kuleba,
- Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko
- Strategic Industries Minister Herman Smetanin
- European Integration Minister Olha Stefanishyna
- Culture Minister Mykola Tochytskyi
- Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov
At least three names have been floated as potential replacements for Markarova: specifically Umerov, Halushchenko and Stefanishyna. Early reports also put Shmyhal as a front-runner for that post should he be replaced as prime minister.
Stefanishyna told local television that she was not made aware of any such plans.
“I can definitely say that I have not had such conversations with anyone in the government, in parliament, or anywhere,” Stefanishyna said.
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