Ukrainian foreign minister resigns amid expected government reshuffle
- 4 September, 07:25
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tendered his resignation on Wednesday amid the wide-ranging government reshuffle.
Kulebo’s handwritten resignation note came a day after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced plans to refresh his team ahead of “an extremely important autumn”, stating that “our state institutions must be set up so that Ukraine achieves all the results we need.” In an address made on Tuesday evening, Zelenksiy explained the reasons behind the government reshuffle, stating “we must strengthen some areas in the government, and personnel decisions have been prepared.” Kuleba was one of Ukraine’s key diplomats and had been prominent in Zelenskiy’s administration. His resignation came ahead of Zelenskiy’s planned trip to the United States. He was the latest in a flurry of resignations. Ukraine’s vice premiers, three ministers, the head of the State Property Fund and a top official in Zelensky’s Presidential Office have already tendered their resignation.
The large-scale government reshuffle comes amid a deadly Russian attack on western city of Lviv. The city mayor Andriy Sadovyi said seven people, including a 14-year-old girl, were killed and 25 were injured in the attacks. In a separate attack, five people were injured in Zelenskiy’s hometown Kryvyi Rih.
It should be noted that the last major reshuffle took place within the Ukrainian government in February, when Volodymyr Zelenskiy replaced the former Commander in Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi with Oleksander Syrskyi.
