Former executive director of NJSC Naftogaz Ukrainy Yuriy Vitrenko, who on December 17 in the Verkhovna Rada lacked 40 votes to be appointed First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Energy of Ukraine, is ready to compete for a place in the government, he said in an interview with youtube-channel of Serhiy Leshchenko on Saturday.

"The first emotion [after an unsuccessful vote] was relief, but then I realized that it most likely would not end so easily. It means that the president has strategic and decisive mood, and then I began to think that I shouldn't give up, especially considering that I did not hear any serious arguments from deputies in the session hall why I am an unsuitable candidate," said Vitrenko.

According to him, President Volodymyr Zelensky and the faction of the Servant of the People party say that they will propose his candidacy in the Verkhovna Rada again.

Earlier on December 18, two informed sources confirmed to the Interfax-Ukraine news agency that after the first unsuccessful vote in the Rada, the issue of the temporary appointment of Vitrenko as acting minister of energy is being considered.