An announcement by the Ukrainian president that he will seek to replace the prime minister with a loyalist came as the country faces battlefield setbacks and a souring mood.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday proposed a new prime minister and defence minister, part of a major cabinet reshuffle he said would "renew" government more than three years into Russia's invasion.

"I have proposed that Yuliia Svyrydenko lead the Government of Ukraine and significantly renew its work," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.