A wave of resignations has swept through the Ukrainian government, with Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba submitting his resignation on Wednesday. This major reshuffle marks a significant shift in President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s administration, coming amidst intense pressure on the eastern front and ahead of Zelenskyy’s upcoming trip to the United States.
In addition to Kuleba, two vice premiers, three ministers, the head of the State Property Fund, and a senior official in Zelenskyy’s Presidential Office have all stepped down within the past day. Ruslan Stefanchuk, the Speaker of Ukraine’s parliament, announced the resignations on Facebook, stating that they will be reviewed in an upcoming parliamentary session.
While the resignations of three ministers and one vice premier were approved on Wednesday, the parliament did not accept those of the property fund head and Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk. A vote on Kuleba’s resignation, along with two others, is scheduled for Thursday. The parliament will also consider new ministerial appointments.
President Zelenskyy, while not elaborating on the reasons for the reshuffle, emphasized the importance of optimizing state institutions for achieving key objectives during the upcoming fall. He stated in his Tuesday night address, “Autumn will be extremely important for Ukraine. And our state institutions must be set up in such a way that Ukraine will achieve all the results we need – for all of us.”
According to CNN, Kuleba and other resigning officials are expected to be given new roles within Zelenskyy’s administration. This reshuffle appears strategically timed, coinciding with Ukraine’s mounting pressure on the eastern front, particularly around the critical city of Pokrovsk. Zelenskyy likely aims to have his new team in place before his trip to the US for the UN General Assembly and a meeting with President Joe Biden.
During this trip, Zelenskyy plans to present Biden with a new four-part “victory plan,” details of which remain undisclosed. The recent changes follow a previous significant leadership shift in February, when Zelenskyy replaced Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi with Oleksander Syrskyi.
Amidst these developments, Ukraine continues to advocate for the US to lift its ban on long-range missiles capable of striking deep within Russian territory. This push comes after Ukraine’s recent incursion into Russian territory, where it now controls nearly 450 square miles. In response, Moscow has escalated its missile strikes across Ukraine, targeting a military academy and other sites in Poltava on Tuesday, resulting in 51 deaths and hundreds of injuries. Over the past few days, Russia has launched hundreds of missiles at Ukrainian cities, including Lviv, targeting essential infrastructure such as energy and water systems.
