KYIV, Ukraine — In a surprising departure from standard political leadership pathways, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has tapped 48-year-old Serhii Koretskyi, the head of the nation’s state-owned energy sector, to serve as the country’s new prime minister. The appointment, announced Thursday, marks a break from the traditional background of most of Ukraine’s top government officials, who typically rise through partisan politics, parliamentary roles, or civil service ranks. Instead, Koretskyi brings a two-decade private-sector career rooted in engineering and industrial management, spanning both fuel and food sectors, before he was tapped to rescue some of Ukraine’s most troubled state energy assets.
Over the past several years, Koretskyi has built a well-documented reputation as a results-driven crisis manager, turning around chronically underperforming state-owned enterprises and returning them to profitability. His most high-profile successes came after 2022, when the Ukrainian government reclaimed control of major oil producer Ukrnafta and refinery operator Ukrtatnafta from oligarch Ihor Kolomoiskyi and appointed Koretskyi to lead both firms. In just two years, he guided Ukrnafta to record annual profits, paid off all of the company’s outstanding tax debts, and grew domestic production, transforming it into one of Ukraine’s largest taxpayers and a critical supporter of the war effort — supplying military fuel and funding frontline drone programs.
He was later selected to lead national energy giant Naftogaz in 2023, at a moment of acute crisis for the firm: Russian missile and drone strikes on energy infrastructure had decimated production facilities, and previous leadership had failed to build up sufficient gas reserves, leaving stockpiles at historic lows. Koretskyi responded by launching a full organizational audit that led to sweeping restructuring, cutting redundant roles and streamlining operations — changes that sparked internal pushback but delivered tangible results. Under his leadership, Naftogaz rebuilt national gas reserves to over 13 billion cubic meters and raised close to $1 billion in critical revenue for the state.
Now, Koretskyi steps into what will be the greatest challenge of his career: leading Ukraine’s cash-strapped wartime government. This role demands far more than the corporate turnaround expertise that defined his career to date, requiring sharp political skill, careful diplomatic navigation, and strategic power brokering to keep the government and country functioning through ongoing conflict. Zelenskyy has tasked him with steering the nation through what Ukrainian officials warn will be the most difficult winter of the full-scale Russian invasion, targeting repeated Russian attacks on civilian and energy infrastructure. He is the third prime minister to hold office since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
From the outset, his premiership has been mired in controversy. When parliament gathered to vote on his confirmation, hundreds of demonstrators assembled in central Kyiv, voicing anger at Zelenskyy over this week’s sudden government reshuffle that sidelined the widely popular Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.
Addressing lawmakers after his confirmation, Koretskyi outlined his immediate policy priorities: shoring up Ukraine’s damaged energy infrastructure ahead of winter, stabilizing the war-battered national economy, ensuring transparent and effective use of incoming international aid, and scaling up domestic arms production to support Ukraine’s military. For his part, Zelenskyy has defended the appointment, framing Koretskyi as the most prepared candidate to lead the country through the coming months, with winter preparedness as his top guiding priority.