Naftogaz chief Koretskyi 90% certain to be approved as head of new Cabinet of Ministers – sources
The current chairman of the board of Naftogaz of Ukraine, 48-year-old Serhii Koretskyi, is the sole candidate for the post of prime minister of Ukraine, with the probability of his appointment estimated at 90%.
This is stated in the article "Mercury retrograde for the Cabinet of Ministers: How suspicion against Stefanishyna changed Svyrydenko’s life and whether Fedorov will be dismissed" by Censor.NET journalist Tetiana Nikolaienko.
Koretskyi has already held final talks with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and even accompanied the president to the NATO summit in Ankara, which Western diplomats viewed as the formal introduction of the future head of the Ukrainian government to European and US partners.
What is known about Koretskyi
He has had a long career in the major fuel business, starting in the late 1990s as an ordinary security guard at the Kontynium Group owned by prominent businessman Ihor Yeremeyev. He subsequently became the company’s CEO and took charge of the well-known WOG petrol station chain in 2013.
After leaving Kontynium in 2018, he developed his own projects, including Idealist Coffee, and from 2019 to 2022 served as co-founder and chairman of the board of Swiss energy trader Centurion Group SA.
Koretskyi’s career in the public sector began in November 2022, when he was appointed to manage the nationalised assets of Ukrnafta and Ukrtatnafta. He delivered strong management results: while the company had lost more than UAH 10 billion over the previous decade under the influence of oligarchic groups, it generated UAH 40 billion in net profit during Koretskyi’s two years at the helm after moving procurement to Prozorro and abandoning shell companies.
In April 2025, he took charge of Naftogaz amid regular attacks on gas infrastructure, securing the position through an open competition involving 62 candidates. Only one question is currently intriguing political circles: how Koretskyi will divide powers with his future first deputy prime minister, Denys Shmyhal.
How Koretskyi’s Cabinet will change
- According to MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak, the following officials will retain their posts: First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy Denys Shmyhal, Minister of Culture Tetiana Berezhna, Health Minister Viktor Liashko, Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko, Sports Minister Matvii Bidnyi, Social Policy Minister Denys Uliutin, Veterans Affairs Minister Nataliia Kalmykova, and Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha.
However, there are differing accounts regarding the last two. Sources say they may also be replaced.
Education and Science Minister Oksen Lisovyi is expected to be dismissed under Koretskyi’s government. Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Taras Kachka will also lose his post after coming under fire from both the Presidential Office and activists over the failure to implement European integration reforms concerning the NABU. He will be replaced by Ukraine’s representative to the EU, Vsevolod Chentsov.
Kuleba and Terekhov
- Oleksii Kuleba, who is also rumoured to feature in the Midas case, is finally expected to leave the government. His ministry will be split into the Ministry for Regional Development, to be headed by Vitalii Bezghin, and the Ministry of Infrastructure, for which no candidate is yet known.
The emergence of Ihor Terekhov among the potential ministerial candidates prompted a joke that if he were appointed to head the Ministry of Infrastructure, not paying utility bills would become state policy. The joke stems from the amount of utility debt accumulated by Kharkiv, where Terekhov is mayor.
"In fact, I think Davyd simply promoted Terekhov in the chat. After all, they are considering creating a joint party. But he will not join the Cabinet of Ministers," a Censor.NET source among the Servant of the People MPs said.
Denys Maslov will head the Ministry of Justice. He has been expected to take the post for the past six months but has numerous matters in the parliamentary committee that he has been unable to leave.
