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.

🇺🇦 Zelensky dismisses first assistant Serhiy Shefir, a former comedy colleague, and other advisers in a significant government reshuffle.

This move is part of a "major reset" to enhance government functionality, though official reasons have not been provided. pic.twitter.com/wdRhjZLmaw

— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) March 30, 2024

“We continue to reset state institutions. There have been several replacements this week, and these are not all the decisions that have been prepared. Today, there are new decrees regarding advisers. I am grateful to everyone for their work. We are making the Office more functional,” Zelensky said.

According to Ukrainska Pravda, further personnel changes are expected in the government soon, but the specifics have not yet been decided by the president’s team.

Read more:

• Zelenskyy dismisses Danilov as Security Council secretary, appoints replacement
• Ex-Ukrainian security chief Oleksiy Danilov named ambassador to Moldova
• Syrskyi in, Zaluzhnyi out: what to expect from Ukraine’s army reshuffle

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