Ukraine cannot afford to win tomorrow’s war using yesterday’s approaches, retaining ineffective managers and getting rid of effective ones. This was stated by Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Сhairman of the Kyiv Security Forum and Prime Minister of Ukraine from 2014 to 2016, in an interview with journalist Dmytro Gordon, commenting on the government reshuffle.
“We need to win the war. We cannot win it through infighting, ill-considered decisions, or by keeping the ineffective ones and getting rid of the effective ones. Tomorrow’s war cannot be won with yesterday’s approaches [...] We must seek out, retain, and encourage the best – at all levels of government,” he noted.
Assessing the appointment of the new government, Yatsenyuk noted that he sees the logic in appointing Serhii Koretskyi as the new prime minister given his experience in the energy sector – he first headed JSC “Ukrnafta” and later NJSC “Naftogaz of Ukraine.” According to Yatsenyuk, this amounts to the appointment of a “de facto energy-focused prime minister” amid the war, so that the country can navigate the difficult fall and winter period.
The KSF Chairman also highlighted the opposition’s move to support the candidacy of the new head of government. “This is a significant step when the opposition decides to share political responsibility with the government for appointing a key figure. One of the main reasons is that they wanted the prime minister to be appointed so that the country could get through another difficult winter,” emphasized the Chairman of the KSF.
Apart from that, he described former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who, in his words, “represents a new generation of Ukrainians”: “young, modern, intelligent, systematic, and team-oriented.
Speaking about the still-vacant position of defense minister, Yatsenyuk stressed that the modern defense ministry needs a manager capable of thinking systematically. “The Ministry of Defense is an institution that provides logistics and weapons and is responsible for key areas of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ operations. And that is why we need civilians here who know how to build a system. Let the president decide who will hold the position, because in the current system, it is the head of state – the Supreme Commander-in-Chief – who bears responsibility,” Yatsenyuk noted.
Among the positive signs, Chairman of the KSF highlighted the peaceful protests, calling them a sign of true democracy even under martial law. “Ukrainian society is absolutely sound. Despite the fact that we are under martial law, we have a perfectly functioning democracy. People are taking to the streets and expressing their views,” Yatsenyuk noted.