Zelenskyy shakes up government, removing former comedy colleague

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has initiated a significant government reshuffle, dismissing his first assistant Serhiy Shefir, along with several advisers and commissioners. Shefir, a former colleague from Zelensky’s comedy career, played a crucial role in his election campaign and served as his first assistant since 2019.

The Ukrainian president also dismissed two deputy heads of the President’s Office, Andriy Smirnov and Oleksiy Dniprov, replacing them with Iryna Mudra and Olena Kovalska. Additionally, several freelance advisers and commissioners were removed from their positions.

The reasons for the dismissals have not been officially announced, but they follow the recent dismissals of Oleksiy Danilov, the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, and General Valery Zaluzhnyi, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Zelenskyy has emphasized the need for a “major reset” of the government to enhance its functionality.

On 30 March, he reiterated this sentiment in his daily address.

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