Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed the strategic reasons behind the massive reshuffle of the Cabinet of Ministers during a press conference. According to the head of state, Kyiv was aware of the Russian authorities' plans several months before the official personnel changes. It was intelligence data regarding the Kremlin's intentions that determined the priorities of the new government.

Two Factions in Putin's Inner Circle

Zelenskyy described the internal situation in Russia as a polarization of opinions. In his words, there are two groups within Vladimir Putin's circle: one seeks to end the conflict due to the threat of economic and logistical collapse, while the other — "military people" — insists on expanding the war and conducting a new mobilization.

"We see, indeed, that Putin has people who want to end the war... But not military people who want the expansion of the war, the declaration of mobilization. Therefore, we must prepare for plans to get through the winter," the president emphasized.

Priorities: Logistics and Grain

Information regarding Moscow's intentions forced Kyiv to reconsider the structure of power. Zelenskyy explained that the choice of the new Prime Minister and the composition of ministers was dictated by the need to concentrate on critically important areas: logistics, grain exports, agriculture, and energy.

"We saw the Russians' plans a couple of months ago, and therefore decided that we need to focus specifically on this direction," he noted.

Criticism of Preparation Pace

Despite the new appointments, the president admitted that work on ensuring "resilience plans" for the winter is lagging behind schedule. Zelenskyy expressed dissatisfaction with the current pace and indicated that accelerating processes would be the main task for the new Minister of Infrastructure.

"To be honest, I am not fully satisfied yet. As you can see, in terms of percentage of work done. We need to get going very quickly," he stated.

Two Winter Scenarios

Zelenskyy outlined two possible paths for the development of events during the winter period. The first is a successful defense, which will allow Ukraine to sit down at the negotiating table and end the war. The second is escalation and increased mobilization by the adversary.

"We have two paths for this winter... Resilience on the front is very important so that we can sit down at the negotiating table with Russia and end this war. This is a priority, and I am focusing on this," the president said.

Timeline of Personnel Changes

The change of power in the government happened rapidly. On July 14, Yulia Sviridenko submitted her resignation, which the Verkhovna Rada supported on the same day. Already on July 16, the parliament appointed Serhiy Korytskyi as the new head of the government and approved the updated composition of ministers.

One of the most resonant decisions was the dismissal of Mykhailo Fedorov from the post of Minister of Defense. As RBC-Ukraine reported, the reason was his conflict with the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the procurement of weapons that did not meet the army's needs.

It is noted that Zelenskyy continues to persuade Yulia Sviridenko to head the Embassy of Ukraine in the USA, despite her refusal of this position.