On July 12, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the resignation of Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko — and on the same day held a meeting with Sergiy Koretskyi. Within hours, it became known: the head of Naftogaz is the main candidate for the position of Prime Minister. The Verkhovna Rada is preparing to vote on the appointment.
A man chosen from 62 candidates
Koretskyi entered the public sector not through a party ladder. On April 28, 2025, the supervisory board of NAK Naftogaz Ukrainy selected him based on an open competition among 62 candidates — the selection was conducted by international recruitment company Korn Ferry. Before that, he managed Ukrnafta for almost three years and, according to his own words, brought the company out of chronic losses: if in 2013–2022 the company lost over 10 billion hryvnias in total, then in 2023–2024 it received about 40 billion hryvnias in net profit. The recipe was a transition to purchases through Prozorro, abandonment of intermediaries, and a revision of cooperation terms with the Kremenchuk oil refinery.
Naftogaz after the harshest winter
Koretskyi took the helm of Naftogaz at a moment when gas reserves after the winter of 2025 fell to a record minimum. The Naftogaz group ended 2025 with revenue of 270.9 billion hryvnias — 5.7% more than in 2024, but consolidated profit fell more than six-fold: to 5.83 billion hryvnias from 37.9 billion hryvnias. The main reason — the cost of production, primarily gas imports, increased by almost 30%. This is not a failure of the manager — this is a structural problem of wartime energy that must now be solved at the Cabinet level.
What analysts say — and what astrologers don't say
Political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko formulated it briefly:
"He will become Prime Minister, but he will be Prime Minister without his own team. This will be Zelensky's government, as it is now. The style of government will definitely change, there will likely be fewer populist decisions. More attention will be given to economic and technological issues. This will be a government headed by a crisis manager."
Fesenko, as reported by Radio Free Europe
This is exactly what — "a crisis manager without his own team" — is the real framework for this appointment. According to Fesenko's assessment, Koretskyi "does not have special political ambitions and political connections with various political or oligarchic groups". For Bankova in conditions of war, this is an advantage, not a disadvantage.
Meanwhile, media outlets managed to publish an astrological analysis of Koretskyi's natal chart with the conclusion that his "potential better corresponds to the position of Prime Minister". It is telling that this argument appeared after the choice had actually been made — and without any chart.
Svyrydenko — in the USA, Koretskyi — in the Cabinet
Svyrydenko, who presented the country's long-term economic strategy, did not expect such a turn, but agreed. Her career as Prime Minister lasted less than a year — between two Ukraine Recovery Conferences. The appointment as Ambassador to the USA became a logical continuation of her previous experience working on European and American integration.
Koretskyi did not publicly confirm his readiness to head the government — he "did not communicate on the appointment topic in any way". This is either management discipline, or an awareness that the real choice is not made by him.
The main question is not whether the crisis manager will cope with the government. It is whether Bankova will give the technocrat Prime Minister enough autonomy in economic decisions — especially during negotiations on reconstruction and new winter preparations. If not, then changing the name on Hrushevsky Street, 12 will be worth nothing.
