Ukraine, Zelensky changes more than half the government. Foreign Minister Kuleba also leaves

Ukraine: Deputy Prime Ministers Olha Stefanishyna and Iryna Vereshchuk also out of government

The government reshuffle that will be announced in Kiev could also involve the Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. This was revealed by Ukrainska Pravda, according to which the most likely replacement would be First Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Sibiga.

Yesterday, the ministers of strategic industries Alexander Kamishin, justice Denis Maliuska, environment and natural resources Ruslan Strilets and the director of the State Property Fund Vitali Kova announced their resignations.

In the evening it was learned that the vice prime ministers also intended to leave the government. Olha Stefanishyna and Iryna Vereshchukthe first responsible for European integration, the second for refugees. The spokesman for Voloydmyr Zelensky’s party, David Arakhamia, anticipated that there will be a turnover of “more than 50%” of the government.

Zelensky changes government, ‘to strengthen some areas’ – In his traditional evening video message, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced changes in the composition of the government and the Presidential Office, justifying this by the need to strengthen certain areas of the executive branch. This was reported by Ukrinform. “The autumn will be extremely important for Ukraine. And our state institutions must be created so that they achieve all the results we need – all of us. To do this, we need to strengthen certain areas of the government. There will be changes in the Office as well,” Zelensky said. The president added that “he is counting on a slightly different weight for some areas of our foreign and domestic policy.” First, he said, greater interaction between the central government and communities is needed, especially now, in preparation for the winter season. “Second, Ukraine has already achieved significant results in defense production. And this should be strengthened at all levels, in particular to make it easier to attract partner investments in our strategic industries,” he said. Third, in his opinion, it is necessary to significantly strengthen cooperation with NATO; and this requires special interaction. “The fourth is the European Union, the actual accession negotiations, the preparation of the relevant parts of the future accession agreement. Fifth, we must combine everything that Ukraine has achieved in its relations with partners with what our state must do to counter Russian propaganda and protect Ukrainian cultural heritage,” Zelensky concluded.