Europe

Ukraine, Kuleba also leaves: shower of resignations in the Zelensky government

On the morning of 4 September, the handwritten letter of resignation from the foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, was added to those received the evening before from the parliamentary president, Ruslan Stefanchuk. The requests, he said, will be considered at a future session. The reshuffle does not seem to touch the prime minister, Denis Shmyhal

4 September 2024

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L'attacco russo a Leopoli in Ucraina, ha ucciso sette persone, tra cui tre bambini, 4 settembre 2024. ANSA/US VIGILI DEL FUOCO UCRAINA +++ NO SALES, EDITORIAL USE ONLY +++ NPK +++

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A reshuffle that has been in the air for some time, which "to give new strength to government institutions" - as the Ukrainian president put it on Tuesday evening - disrupts and recomposes much of the team behind Volodymyr Zelensky at a crucial stage of the war: the relentless bombardment that at dawn on Wednesday targeted Leopolis in particular, killing seven people; Russia's offensive in the Donbass, now threatening the city of Pokrovsk; the incursion into the Kursk region and the demand to be able to penetrate deeper into Russian territory with weapons supplied by the United States and Europe.

"Perhaps the reshuffle is somehow related to this new period of challenges," Oleksandr Merezhko, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Commission in the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian Parliament, told the Kyiv Independent newspaper. "We are facing difficult times, a difficult autumn and a difficult winter.
On Wednesday morning, the handwritten resignation letter from the foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba , was added to those received the evening before from the parliament president, Ruslan Stefanchuk. The requests, he said, will be considered at a future session. The reshuffle does not seem to touch the prime minister, Denis Shmyhal.

But like Kuleba, the resigning ministers are all leading figures: Oleksandr Kamyshin, responsible for Strategic Industries (national armaments production); Justice Minister Denys Malyuska, Environment Minister Ruslan Strilets; Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk, responsible for the reintegration of the temporarily occupied territories, and Olha Stefanishyna, Deputy Prime Minister for Euro-Atlantic Integration.

Also resigning were Vitalii Koval, c head of the Ukrainian State Property Fund and the number 2 in the President's Office, Rostyslav Shurma in charge of the Economy. All this in the wake of the dismissal of Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, the head of the national energy company Ukrenergo, who was fired earlier this week.
While in the latter case an explanation could be linked to possible errors and failures in the defence of Ukraine's energy infrastructure and power grid, which was devastated by Russian bombing, there is still an attempt to shed light on the reasons for the reshuffle and the president's intentions: starting with Tuesday's evening message, in which Zelensky confirms that "this autumn will be very important for Ukraine, and our state institutions must be configured in such a way that Ukraine gets the results we all need".

For this reason, explains the Ukrainian president, 'we need to strengthen certain areas of government. There will also be changes in the Bureau of the Presidency. I also plan to place a slightly different emphasis on certain areas of our foreign and domestic policy. First of all, we need more interaction between the central authorities and local communities: especially now that we are preparing for the winter season'.

Secondly, Zelensky speaks of 'significant achievements' in the production of armaments: 'Here we must intensify our work at all levels,' he explains, 'in particular by facilitating the arrival of partners to invest in our strategic industries. Thirdly, we must continue our work with NATO, and this requires special interaction'.
The fourth point mentioned by Zelensky is the preparation of negotiations with the European Union, a legal and political work for which the president will require 'personal responsibility'. Finally, he concludes, 'we must integrate all that Ukraine has achieved in relations with its partners - trust in Ukraine, the strength of the Ukrainian spirit - with the commitments required of the state to counter Russian propaganda and protect Ukraine's cultural heritage. We need a new level of relations with the Ukrainian community in the world'.
Anticipating possible future reappointments, the resigned Minister for Strategic Industries Kamyshin said he would remain working in the defence sphere, albeit in a different role.

As far as the Foreign Ministry is concerned, crucial in the strengthening of alliances and the search for new partnerships, according to Ukrainska Pravda, Minister Kuleba's place could go to Andrii Sybiha, his deputy: a former ambassador to Turkey, described by a source quoted by Bloomberg as 'a skilled diplomat'. According to the same source, Kuleba would now focus on strengthening relations with the Atlantic Alliance. Being part of it one day is central to Kiev's goals.