Ukraine's Prime Minister resigns, opening the door to a broad government reshuffle
'I am tendering my resignation from the post of the Prime Minister of Ukraine,' Denys Shmyhal wrote in a letter posted on his Telegram page.
Mr. Zelenskyy said on Monday (July 14, 2025) that he has offered Mr. Shmyhal's job to 39-year-old Yuliia Svyrydenko, who is currently Deputy Prime Minister and the country's first female Economy Minister.
Ms. Svyrydenko played a key role in negotiating a U.S.–Ukraine mineral agreement. She has frequently represented Ukraine in high-level talks with Western partners, focusing on defense cooperation, economic recovery and reconstruction.
It wasn't immediately clear how the reshuffle will play out in coming days, as the Ukrainian Parliament must schedule a vote on Mr. Zelenskyy's proposed changes amid the all-out war launched by Russia on Feb. 24, 2022.
The reshuffle coincides with increasing pressure on the front line by Russia's bigger army and escalating assaults by drones and missiles on Ukrainian cities.
U.S. President Donald Trump pledged on Monday to supply more weapons for Ukraine, paid for by European countries. But Kyiv officials are keen to lock in Washington's future support amid fears that the Republican administration could walk away from the conflict.
'To us it is very important, in the context of what is happening now, to strengthen ties with the U.S.,' Mr. Zelenskyy said last week.
The Ukrainian leader recently said that he thought Mr. Shmyhal would make a good Defense Minister — a move that would make the current defense chief, Rustem Umerov, available to take over as Ukraine's envoy to Washington, observers note.
Mr. Zelenskyy had previously voiced his intention to replace U.S. Ambassador Oksana Markarova.
Mr. Umerov, 43, was appointed as Ukraine's Defense Minister in September 2023, following a series of corruption scandals. He has sought to introduce reforms, but critics said that the Defense Ministry was plagued by mismanagement.
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Ukrainian President Zelenskyy pledged a new anti-corruption bill amid EU criticism and protests over a controversial law weakening watchdogs. The move comes as Russia intensifies attacks and Kyiv faces mounting pressure on reforms and foreign aid read more Thousands of people protest against a law targeting anti-corruption institutions near the President's Office in Kyiv, Ukraine. AP President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared on Thursday that he will present a new anti-corruption bill to Ukraine's Parliament, in an additional effort to soothe tensions after approving modifications to graft legislation that sparked a public uproar and severe condemnation from the European Union. Opponents of the contentious law enacted by the lawmakers and signed by Zelenskyy earlier this week said that it deprived Ukraine's anti-corruption watchdogs of their independence by giving the government more control over their work. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Zelenskyy stated that it was necessary to speed up investigations, assure more convictions, and remove 'Russian influence' from the battle against corruption, although he did not cite specific examples of Russian intervention. On Thursday, Zelenskyy abruptly announced that he had drafted a new anti-corruption measure that 'guarantees the real strengthening of the law and order system in Ukraine.' In a Telegram post, Zelenskyy said, 'The most important thing is real tools, no Russian connections, and the independence of the (watchdogs).' After almost three years of fending off Russia's full-scale invasion, the declaration seemed to give in to recent pressure that threatened to erode public confidence in Ukraine's leaders. The protests have not demanded Zelenskyy's removal, but they are the first significant anti-government demonstrations since the conflict began. 'It is important that we maintain unity,' Zelenskyy stated in his Telegram post. The announcement also left some questions unanswered. Zelenskyy had said Wednesday that he met with the heads of Ukraine's key anti-corruption and security agencies and gave them two weeks to make recommendations on how the graft law could be improved before he presented another bill to Parliament. Despite that assurance, further street protests were scheduled for Thursday evening. The new pronouncement also left unclear whether Zelenskyy intended to revoke the law that he approved earlier in the week after Parliament had passed it. He didn't publicize details about the proposed new law. The unrest has come at a difficult time in the all-out war, which began on Feb. 24, 2022. Russia's bigger army is accelerating its efforts to pierce Ukraine's front-line defenses and is escalating its bombardment of Ukrainian cities. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Ukraine is also facing a question mark over whether the United States will provide more military aid and whether European commitments can take up the slack, with no end in sight to the war. Delegations from Russia and Ukraine met in Istanbul for a third round of talks in as many months Wednesday. But once again, the talks were brief and delivered no major breakthrough. Fighting entrenched corruption is crucial for Ukraine's aspirations to join the EU and maintain access to billions of dollars in Western aid in the war. It's also an effort that enjoys broad public support. EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos expressed concern Wednesday over the new law, calling it 'a serious step back.' The Ukrainian branch of Transparency International criticized parliament's decision, saying it undermines one of the most significant reforms since what Ukraine calls its Revolution of Dignity in 2014 and damages trust with international partners. Meanwhile, Russian planes dropped two powerful glide bombs on the center of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, on Thursday morning, regional Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said. At least 37 people were wounded, including a 28-day-old baby, a 10-year-old girl and two 17 year olds, authorities said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The southern city of Odesa, and Cherkasy in central Ukraine, were also hit overnight, authorities said. The drone and missile strikes on the cities wounded 11 people, including a 9-year-old, and damaged historic landmarks and residential buildings, officials said. Ukraine has sought to step up its own long-range drone attacks on Russia, using domestic technology and manufacturing. An overnight Ukrainian drone attack on the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi killed two women and wounded 11 other people, local authorities said Thursday. An oil depot was hit, officials said, without offering details.
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EU pushes for trade reset as China's Xi urges ‘proper handling' of disputes, strategic choices
At a shortened summit in Beijing, Xi Jinping urged the EU to manage trade frictions and warned against 'building walls', as leaders clashed over tariffs, Ukraine, and industrial overcapacity, but pledged to cooperate on climate action read more Chinese President Xi Jinping shakes hands with European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China. Reuters Chinese President Xi Jinping urged top European Union officials on Thursday to 'properly handle differences and frictions' as he criticised Brussels's recent trade actions against Beijing at a tense summit dominated by concerns on trade and the Ukraine war. Expectations were low for the summit in the Chinese capital marking 50 years of diplomatic ties after weeks of escalating tension and wrangling that led to the duration being abruptly halved to a single day at Beijing's request. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'The current challenges facing Europe do not come from China,' Xi told visiting European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa, state news agency Xinhua said. He urged the EU to 'adhere to open cooperation and properly handle differences and frictions', after von der Leyen earlier called for a rebalancing of trade ties with the world's second largest economy, saying relations were at an 'inflection point'. 'Improving competitiveness cannot rely on 'building walls and fortresses',' Xi added, according to Xinhua. ''Decoupling and breaking chains' will only result in isolation.' 'It is hoped that the European side will keep the trade and investment market open and refrain from using restrictive economic and trade tools,' Xi said. EU trade actions in the past year have targeted Chinese exports of electric vehicles among other goods, and its officials have repeatedly complained about Chinese industrial overcapacity. Xi also warned EU leaders to 'make correct strategic choices', in a further veiled criticism of Brussels' recent hawkish stance on China. 'As our cooperation has deepened, so have imbalances,' von der Leyen told Xi during their meeting in Beijing's Great Hall of the People, according to a pool report. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'We have reached an inflection point,' she added, urging China to 'come forward with real solutions'. She was referring to the EU's trade deficit with China, which ballooned to a historic 305.8 billion euros ($360 billion) last year. 'We think increasing market access for European companies in China, limiting the external impact of involution, and reducing export controls are important steps forward,' von der Leyen told Premier Li Qiang later, according to a pool report. She described her meeting with Xi as 'excellent'. The two sides also issued a joint statement on climate, reiterating their commitment to new climate action plans across the whole economy. They will boost cooperation in areas such as energy transition, adaptation, methane emissions management and control, carbon markets and green and low-carbon technologies, the joint statement said. 'Lack of impetus' At the start of US President Donald Trump's second term, both sides had more of a consensus in working together to tackle trade challenges from the United States, said Cui Hongjian, a foreign policy professor at Beijing Foreign Studies University. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'Recently the situation has changed,' Cui said. 'The EU has continued to compromise with the United States, which means that there is currently a lack of impetus for EU-China ties to become closer.' 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35 minutes ago
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Air India crash: How to spin-doctor and peddle narratives, the Western way
Lee Kuan Yew in Singapore used to terrorise villainous Western media by suing them in his courts. They learned to toe the line read more There has been a virtual masterclass lately in the creation and dissemination of biased narratives. Not only in the case of the ill-fated Air India 171 (Boeing 787, June 12, 2025) that crashed, but also in some other, unrelated instances. The age-old practices of 'truth by repeated assertion' and 'dubious circular references' as well as 'strategic silence' have all been deployed in full force. The bottom line with the Air India flight: there is reasonable doubt about whether there was mechanical/software failure and/or sabotage or possible pilot error. Any or all of these caused both engines to turn off in flight. But the way the spin-doctors have spun it, it is now 'official' that the commanding pilot was suicidal and turned off the fuel switch. Boeing, the plane maker, and General Electric, the engine maker, are blameless. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD This is, alas, not surprising. It is in the interests of Western MNCs to limit reputational damage and monetary loss related to their products. They do massive marketing by unleashing their PR agencies. We also saw how they protect themselves in other instances. A leaked Pfizer contract for their Covid vaccine insisted that if anything happened, it was the user's problem, not Pfizer's: there was no indemnity. Incidentally, a report on July 19 said that the Pfizer Covid vaccine can lead to severe vision problems. Oh, sorry, no indemnity. What is deplorable in the Air India case is that the AAIB, the Indian entity investigating the disaster, chose to release a half-baked preliminary report with enough ambiguity that a case could be (and definitely was) built up against the poor dead pilots. Any marketing person could have read the report and told them that it would be used to blame the pilots and absolve the manufacturers. Besides, the AAIB report was released late night on a Friday, India time, which meant that the Western media had all of one working day to do the spin-doctoring, which they did with remarkable gusto. Meanwhile, the Indian media slept. Whose decision was this? Clearly, Indian babus need a remedial course in public relations if this was mere incompetence. Of course, if it was intentional, that would be even worse. There is a pattern. In earlier air accidents, such as the Jeju Air crash involving a Boeing 737-800 in South Korea in December, the pilots were blamed. In accidents involving Lion Air (Boeing 737 Max 8, 2018), China Airlines (737-200, 1989), Flydubai (737-800, 2016), ditto. I am beginning to believe that a lot of Asian pilots are poorly trained and/or suicidal. Ditto with the F-35 that fell into the ocean off Japan. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Truth by repeated assertion is a powerful force for gaslighting the gullible. I wonder what excuses we'll hear about the Delta Airlines Boeing 767 whose engine caught fire in the air after take-off from LAX on July 20. The pilots didn't die, so they will speak up. Besides, they were Westerners. I am eagerly awaiting the spin on this. I also noticed with grim amusement how the BBC, WSJ, Bloomberg, and Reuters, and so on were busy quoting each other to validate their assertions. This is a standard tactic that India's 'distorians' (see Utpal Kumar's powerful book Eminent Distorians) have perfected: B will quote third-hand hearsay from A, then C will quote B, D will quote C, and before you know it, the hearsay has become the truth. But if you wind it back from D to C to B to A it becomes, 'I hear someone told someone that xyz happened.' Out of thin air, then. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD There is also the lovely tactic of strategic silence. It has been used to un-person people who ask inconvenient questions. It has also been used to defenestrate inconvenient news. Just days ago, under the Deep State-installed new regime in Syria, hundreds of minority Druze were brutally massacred. There was video on X of armed men in uniform forcing Druze men to jump off tall buildings, and desecrating their shrines. Similarly, there is a brutal reign of terror, rape, murder, and thuggery against Hindus, Buddhists, and others under the Deep State-blessed regime of Mohammed Yunus in Bangladesh: a clear genocide. Neither Syria nor Bangladesh gets any headlines. There are no loud human-rights protests as in the case of Gaza. This is not news. It is un-news. 'Manufacturing Consent' all the way. India is particularly vulnerable to this gaslighting because Indians consume a lot of English-language 'news.' Scholars have long noted how the US public has been maintained in a state of ignorance so they could be easily manipulated. The same is true of the Indian middle class. So, there is yet another reason to do less in English. Fooling, say, the Chinese or Japanese public is a lot more difficult. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The fact is that even though Indians may be literate in English, they do not understand the context and the subtext of what is fed to them by the likes of The Economist, NPR, The Financial Times, The New York Times, etc. The best way I can explain this is the 100+5 analogy in the Mahabharata: they may fight with each other on domestic matters, but Anglosphere and Deep State are in cahoots when it comes to international matters. Things are both getting better and getting worse. On the one hand, social media and its imprint on generative AI mean that it is ever easier to propagate fake news (in addition to deepfake audio and video, of course). On the other hand, despite the problem of charlatans and paid agents provocateurs getting lots of eyeballs, the large number of Indians on social media may push back against the worst kinds of blood libel against India and Indians, of which there's plenty these days, often created by bots from 'friendly' countries. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD This is a serious matter indeed. One solution is to do a version of the Great Chinese Firewall and ban wholesale the worst offenders. Indeed, a few of the vilest handles have been ejected from X. However, the pusillanimity with which notorious Pakistani handles were unbanned, then re-banned after outrage, shows there's something rotten in the Information Ministry. Almost exactly the same as the unbanning of Pakistani cricketers, then rebanning after outrage. Is there anybody in charge? Information warfare is insidious. Going back to the Air India case, I think the families of the maligned pilots should sue for gigantic sums for libel and defamation. The sad state of the Indian judiciary may mean that, unfortunately, this will not go far. However, there is precedent: Lee Kuan Yew in Singapore used to terrorise villainous Western media by suing them in his courts. They learned to toe the line. If this tactic does not work, India should eject the hostile media. The Indian market is increasingly important to Western media (not vice versa) because soon there will be more English-reading consumers in India than in the Five Eyes Anglosphere. I should say that in quotes because as I said above, most Indians are blissfully unaware of the hidden agendas, and naively believe them. But 'Judeo-Christian' culture is very different from dharmic. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD I keep getting emails from The New York Times with tempting offers to subscribe to them for something really cheap like Rs. 25 a month. They need Indian readers. I have been shouting from the rooftops for years that one of these charlatan media houses needs to be kicked out, harshly, with 24 hours' notice to wind up and leave. As in the Asian proverb, 'Kill the chicken to scare the monkeys.' The monkeys will notice, and behave. Otherwise, the information warfare is just going to get worse. The writer has been a conservative columnist for over 25 years. His academic interest is innovation. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost's views.
