3 months ago
17
NEW DELHI:
Ukrainian foreign minister
Dmytro Kuleba, who has been one of the prominent voices in
President Zelenskyy
's team, resigned from the post on Wednesday.
Kuleba has stepped down ahead of the expected major
government reshuffle
in the wake of
Russian strikes
that killed at least seven people in the Ukrainian city of Lviv near the Polish border.
Kuleba, however, has not given any reason why he chose to step down from his role as foreign minister.
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.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his political allies may use this opportunity to fill the vacant positions and create order before his upcoming visit to the United States, where he plans to present a "victory plan" to President Joe Biden.
Zelenskyy stressed the importance of the autumn season for Ukraine and the need to strengthen certain areas of the government.
"Autumn will be extremely important for Ukraine. And our state institutions should be configured so that Ukraine achieves all the results that we need - for all of us," Zelenskyy said in his address.
He also dismissed Rostyslav Shurma, one of his deputy chiefs of staff responsible for the economy.
David Arakhamia, a senior lawmaker from Zelenskyy's party, announced that there would be a "major government reset," with more than half of the ministers being replaced.
Stefanishyna, who has been focusing on Ukraine's bid to join the European Union and Nato, may be appointed as the head of a larger ministry that combines her previous role with that of the justice ministry, according to a source from Zelenskiy's party cited by the Suspilne public broadcaster.
