Ukraine's youngest PM replaced as president seeks 'new brains'

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy delivers a speech during a parliamentary session, Kiev, Ukraine, March 4, 2020. /Reuters

Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskiy ousted Oleksiy Honcharuk as prime minister after just six months in a reshuffle on Wednesday, saying that "new brains and new hearts" were required to revive the economy and tackle corruption.

The shake-up threw Ukraine's commitment to reforms into focus at a time when it is trying to finalize a new loan program with the International Monetary Fund that is seen as crucial to economic stability and investor confidence.

Denys Shymgal, who was nominated as the candidate for the post of Ukrainian prime minister, in a parliamentary session, Kiev, Ukraine, March 4, 2020. /Reuters

At a special parliament session, lawmakers voted to accept the resignation of Honcharuk and Denys Shymgal, who vowed to revise the 2020 budget, cut the salaries of ministers and some officials, will replace him.

"Yes, indeed, this is the first government where there is no high-level corruption. But not stealing is not enough. This is a government of new faces, but faces are not enough," Zelenskiy said. "New brains and new hearts are needed."

The changes started when

Zelenskiy came to the stage

, who was elected last year as an outsider who would bring new faces to politics.

In February, Zelenskyy's ratings fell below 50 percent for the first time as the government has been criticized for inconsistent reforms and failed attempts to

negotiate a peace deal with the separatists and Moscow

.

Ukraine's Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk speaks during a news briefing in the village of Novi Sanzhary in Poltava region, Ukraine, February 20, 2020. /Reuters

The president dismissed his chief of staff Andriy Bogdan

last month, which came after reports of a turf war between Bogdan and Andriy Yermak, a senior presidential aide who has now been appointed to replace him.

Zelenskiy said that internal conflicts within his team had prevented it from working effectively though no official explanation was immediately given for the dismissal.

Honcharuk,35, is Ukraine's youngest and most short-lived prime minister since independence in 1991. He

submitted his resignation for a second time

after reports that Zelenskiy might be gearing up to sack him at the end of February.

Shymgal, 44, who was deputy prime minister in Honcharuk's cabinet, used to head the western Ivano-Frankivsk region.

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