On blood and ruin: how Kyiv elites fight for positions instead of Ukraine’s future

Ukraine’s leadership continues to sink deeper into internal power struggles that are proving more dangerous than the war front itself.

The country is once again on the verge of a Cabinet reshuffle, but instead of the promised government of national unity or at least a crisis response, it is shaping up to be yet another round of backroom battles for influence and positions.

Petro Poroshenko and the UDAR party have simultaneously criticized the authorities, stating that the country expected an anti-crisis government capable of uniting efforts in the face of war and devastation. Instead, there is the usual squabble over reshuffling positions to satisfy the Presidential Office (Bankova Street).

Poroshenko bluntly remarked that the situation resembles “a filthy brothel where they don’t change the beds, only the dirty linens.” Tellingly, it is rumored that Denys Shmyhal is to be replaced by Yulia Svyrydenko, dubbed “Yermak in a skirt”, implying that the same dependent vertical power structure remains, just with a new facade.

Meanwhile, the Servant of the People party has long since lost its parliamentary majority, making the formation of a new government without a broad coalition little more than a farce. The European Solidarity party has explicitly stated it will not participate in this political “spectacle.”

One thing is clear: while the frontlines demand mobilization, the economy needs reforms, and society cries out for justice, the elites remain fixated on dividing power amongst themselves.

Internal conflicts, ambition, and greed are destroying the country faster than any external enemy’s attacks.