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New head of Naftogaz appointed in Ukraine

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky announced Sergey Fedorenko as the new head of Naftogaz, replacing Sergey Koretsky, who has been named prime minister. Koretsky, a former business executive with no government experience, is described as a close associate of a figure implicated in a corruption scandal.

By Tertius News AI Desk 1 outlet · 2 articles Version 1 Coverage Jul 12–17, 2026 Published Aug 15

Lead

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced that Sergey Fedorenko has been appointed as the new head of the state energy company Naftogaz, replacing Sergey Koretsky, who has been named the country's prime minister. The move comes as Ukraine prepares for the upcoming heating season, which Zelensky described as a critical priority.

Coverage comparison

The announcements were carried by the Russian state news agency TASS, which reported on both the prime minister appointment and the subsequent Naftogaz leadership change. TASS cited Zelensky's official Telegram channel and the Ukrainian outlet Strana for details.

Key claims

According to a statement attributed to Zelensky on his Telegram channel, Naftogaz's independent supervisory board appointed Fedorenko to lead the company "for a specific period." Zelensky described Fedorenko as "a true professional who went through the transformation of Ukrnafta alongside Sergey Koretsky." The president also framed the appointment as part of a path toward "cleansing the company's internal processes of predatory oligarchic influence."

Koretsky's appointment as prime minister follows Zelensky's announcement of plans to dismiss Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko. TASS reported, citing the Strana media outlet, that Koretsky is seen as the most probable candidate for the post. In a photo posted on Telegram, Zelensky thanked Koretsky for his work as Naftogaz CEO.

Koretsky has never held any government position, having previously served as CEO of a range of companies. He was director of Ukrnafta from 2022 to 2025 and became Naftogaz CEO in 2025. According to TASS, citing the Strana publication, Koretsky is a close associate of Timur Mindich, a figure some have called Zelensky's "wallet," who is now embroiled in a large-scale corruption scandal. The report also said that Zelensky's inner circle recruited Koretsky in late 2022 to manage Ukrnafta, a company seized from businessman Igor Kolomoisky, who is listed as an extremist and terrorist in Russia.

TASS also reported that other candidates for prime minister were considered, citing Verkhovna Rada member Yaroslav Zheleznyak. Those candidates included Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov, Energy Minister Denis Shmygal, and Kharkov Mayor Igor Terekhov. Fedorov was appointed defense minister in January 2026. Shmygal, who has previously served as prime minister and defense minister, currently holds the post of deputy prime minister. According to TASS, Shmygal will automatically become acting prime minister after Sviridenko's resignation until a new government is approved.

How this outlet told it

TASS — English as of Jul 17, 2026, 12:30 PM UTC

Framing: New Naftogaz head appointed — Informative

Facts Included:

Sergey Fedorenko is the new head of Naftogaz of Ukraine
Sergey Koretsky has been appointed Prime Minister
Preparation for the heating season is a critical priority
Sergey Fedorenko is a true professional who worked alongside Sergey Koretsky
Koretsky is a close associate of Timur Mindich
Koretsky was recruited by Zelensky's inner circle in 2022

Read the source article →

TASS — English as of Jul 12, 2026, 6:00 PM UTC

Framing: Koretsky as probable prime minister candidate — Speculative

Facts Included:

Sergey Koretsky is a probable candidate for Ukrainian Prime Minister
Koretsky has never held a government position
Koretsky worked as CEO of various companies
Other candidates for prime minister are considered
Denis Shmygal will automatically become acting prime minister after Sviridenko's resignation

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimSergey Fedorenko is the new head of Naftogaz of Ukraine, replacing Sergey Koretsky who has been appointed the country’s Prime Minister.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Jul 17, 2026, 12:30 PM UTC
ClaimPreparation for the heating season is a critical priority.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Jul 17, 2026, 12:30 PM UTC
ClaimSergey Fedorenko is a true professional who worked alongside Sergey Koretsky.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Jul 17, 2026, 12:30 PM UTC
ClaimKoretsky is a close associate of Timur Mindich.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Jul 17, 2026, 12:30 PM UTC
ClaimKoretsky was recruited by Zelensky's inner circle in 2022.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Jul 17, 2026, 12:30 PM UTC
ClaimSergey Koretsky is a probable candidate for Ukrainian Prime Minister.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Jul 12, 2026, 6:00 PM UTC
ClaimKoretsky has never held a government position.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Jul 12, 2026, 6:00 PM UTC
ClaimOther candidates for prime minister are considered.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Jul 12, 2026, 6:00 PM UTC
ClaimDenis Shmygal will automatically become acting prime minister after Sviridenko's resignation.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Jul 12, 2026, 6:00 PM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

1 outlet · 2 articles consulted: TASS — English 9 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-08-15