KYIV, March 4 – Reformist Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk on Wednesday was dismissed and replaced with Denys Shmygal, a little-known official, in a massive government reshuffle that is likely to have a significant impact on Ukraine’s foreign and domestic policies.

Shmygal, 44, is known for being employed in the past as a top manager at DTEK, a mining and power group owned by Rinat Akhmetov, the wealthiest Ukrainian businessman.

Dmytro Kuleba, who replaced Vadym Prystaiko as the foreign minister, is known for advocating for stronger ties with China and India. Prystaiko was promoted to deputy prime minister post, but effectively lost control over foreign policy.

“Time to sound the alarm in Kyiv. Things look bloody awful,” Melinda Haring of the Atlantic Council thinktank, tweeted Wednesday.

Ihor Umanskiy, a top finance ministry official with links to old political establishments, was approved as the finance minister, replacing reformist Oksana Markarova.

Andriy Taran, a general who played role in shaping Minsk ceasefire fire agreement with Russia in 2016, was approved as defense minister, replacing Andriy Zahorodniuk.

Internal Affairs Minister Arsen Avakov, a close ally of billionaire Ihor Kolomoyskiy, kept his position in the government, a sign that Kolomoyskiy’s influence over the government remains strong.

“The timing couldn’t have come at a worse moment for Ukraine, with the coronavirus outbreak, a global market downturn, no IMF deal, secondary market bondholders becoming itchy, and significant sovereign debt repayments due,” Andy Hunder, the president of the American Chamber of Commerce, tweeted Wednesday.

It is the second big political shake-up in Ukraine in the last month, following President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s decision to fire Andriy Bohdan as his chief of staff. Despite some early success pushing through changes, Zelenskiy now faces an unruly parliament, a backlash against his candidates to clean up law enforcement, and a long delay of a $5.5 billion loan from the IMF. His foreign policy has also hit snags, including stalled negotiations with Russia over the war in south-east Ukraine and his part in the US impeachment scandal.

Zelenskiy, in a speech on Wednesday, praised the current government’s achievements in tackling inflation and illegal business but also said it was “not enough for Ukrainians”.

“I am sure that any state makes a step toward the abyss, when it loses three main things: memory, hearing and vision,” Zelenskiy said during the speech in parliament. “When the state forgets its promises, it ceases to hear the people and stops seeing the need for changes.” (tl/ez)