The Russian Foreign Ministry said yesterday that Moscow ‘did not accept threats’ after US President Donald Trump said he would give Moscow 50 days to reach a ceasefire in Ukraine or face sanctions.
Trump on Monday announced a toughened stance against Russia over its war in Ukraine, setting out the ceasefire ultimatum and promising a fresh wave of missiles and other weaponry for Kyiv.
Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said yesterday that Trump’s decision to supply Ukraine with new missiles was a signal to ‘continue the slaughter’ and a rejection of peace initiatives.
At the same time, Ukraine’s parliament appointed the country’s first new prime minister in five years yesterday, part of a major cabinet overhaul aimed at revitalising wartime management as prospects for peace with Russia grow dim.
Yulia Svyrydenko, 39, has been tasked by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy with boosting domestic weapons production and reviving Ukraine’s loan-dependent economy.
In a speech to parliament, Zelenskiy said he expected his new government to increase the share of domestic weapons on Ukraine’s battlefield to 50 per cent from 40pc within six months.
He also singled out deregulation and expanding economic co-operation with allies as other key aims of the biggest government reshuffle since Russia’s February 2022 invasion.
Svyrydenko, an experienced technocrat who had served as first deputy prime minister since 2021, pledged to move ‘swiftly and decisively’.
“War leaves no room for delay,” she wrote on X.
“Our priorities for the first six months are clear: reliable supply for the army, expansion of domestic weapons production, and boosting the technological strength of our defence forces.”
Appointments
Svyrydenko is also well known to the Trump administration, having negotiated a deal giving the US preferential access to Ukraine’s mineral wealth. It was considered crucial to bolstering relations between Kyiv and Washington.
Addressing legislators yesterday, Zelenskiy said further deals with the US would be forthcoming but did not offer any specific details.
Parliament also appointed former prime minister Denys Shmyhal, Ukraine’s longest-serving head of government, as defence minister and Svitlana Hrynchuk as energy minister.
Former Svyrydenko deputies Oleksiy Sobolev and Taras Kachka will serve as minister of economy, environment and agriculture and deputy prime minister for European integration, respectively.
“This team is time-tested,” Shmyhal wrote yesterday. “Ahead are new tasks, challenges and a high level of responsibility.”
Zelenskiy also announced that Olha Stefanishyna, a deputy prime minister responsible for Euro-Atlantic integration, would become the country’s new ambassador to the US.
Zelenskiy wrote on Telegram that he had appointed her as the special presidential representative to the US so that she could develop relations with Washington while the procedures necessary for her appointment took place.
Ukraine is seeking to mend frayed ties with the US after Zelenskiy and US President Donald Trump clashed publicly at the White House in February.
Stefanishyna has served as Ukraine’s minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration since 2020, during which time Ukraine began its accession process to the EU.
Ukraine’s current ambassador to the US, Oksana Markarova, incurred the wrath of Trump’s incoming administration during the 2024 election battle with his predecessor Joe Biden.
Markarova was accused by Republicans of helping Biden’s Democratic Party by organising Zelenskiy’s visit to a Pennsylvania ammunition factory in autumn 2024, which was attended by Democratic politicians but not by Republicans.
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