After Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s five-year mandate expired in May, he still remains in power ‘under the provisions of martial law’, and has been scrambling to change his team in order to better fulfill his no-longer constitutional duties.
We’ve seen him change his defense minister, bringing Rustem Umerov, change his beloved by the troops Commander-in-chief Valery Zaluzhny with Oleksandr Syrsky, and now a bigger shakeup is in the making.
Not even Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, who is one of Ukraine’s most famous faces on the international stage, was safe from the changes.
Kuleba submitted his resignation today, ahead of what is an expected to be major government reshuffle.
Associated Press reported:
“Kuleba, 43, didn’t give a reason for stepping down. His resignation will be discussed by lawmakers at their next session, parliamentary Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk said on his Facebook page. Four other Cabinet ministers tendered their resignations late Tuesday, making the Cabinet reshuffle likely the biggest since Russia’s February 2022 invasion.”
Zelensky had last week hinted that a reshuffle was imminent, as the war reaches its 1000-day milestone, and a U.S. presidential election in November could bring a definite change in key U.S. military support for his country.
While the Ukrainian ‘adventure’ into Russia’s Kursk border may region lifted Ukrainian spirits to a degree, the drone and missile air strikes have been been wrecking Ukraine’s power grid, knocking out 70% of generation capacity and depleting heat and water supplies – signaling a terrible winter to come.
“During the war Kuleba has been second only to Zelensky in carrying Ukraine’s message and needs to an international audience, whether through social media posts or meetings with foreign dignitaries. In July, Kuleba became the highest-ranking Ukrainian official to visit China since Russia’s invasion. He has been foreign minister since March 2020.
Read: Zelensky Dismisses Commander of Air Force After First F-16 Fighter Plane Was Destroyed in Ukraine
Kuleba’s successor is not yet known but is expected to be announced on Thursday. Several Ukrainian media outlets, citing unnamed sources, said Kuleba’s deputy, Andrii Sybiha, would become the country’s chief diplomat.”
The new foreign minister is expected to accompany Zelensky to the U.N. General Assembly in New York next week, to lobby global leaders for more support.
More than half the current Cabinet will undergo changes, with ministers’ resignations starting today and new appointments will made tomorrow.
In the meantime, the Russian strikes continue, with a nighttime strike on Lviv and Kryvyi Rih, Zelensky’s hometown.
“Kuleba said the Lviv and Kryvyi Rih attacks showed Ukraine’s need for more Western support. “To put an end to this terror, Ukraine’s partners must promptly deliver the promised air defense systems and ammunition, as well as strengthen Ukraine’s defense capabilities and allow us to launch long-range strikes on all legitimate military targets in Russia,” he wrote on X.”
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