Dimitro Kuleba, the minister who bore no resemblance to the president | El Diario Vasco

Ukraine is losing its friendly face. Dimitro Kuleba (Sumi, 1981) announced his resignation on Wednesday, a euphemism to disguise a departure prompted, according to some sources in kyiv, by a loss of confidence on the part of Volodymyr Zelensky. Until Wednesday, the foreign minister was the only member of the government who dimmed the president’s glow. The wave of sympathy that Kuleba had aroused during the last four years among diplomats around the world did not satisfy his boss, fearful of a progressive eclipse of his figure and demanding a more aggressive style when asking for help.

His departure has been long awaited, but it is now, with difficult times ahead and a challenging winter forecast, that Kuleba has finally been included on the list of names to be replaced in the cabinet.

There was never any harmony between the head of state and his chancellor. Two different men. While Zelensky, a television comedian until he came to power, knew how to capitalise on his histrionics to reach the highest spheres, Kuleba based his political career on a proven educational and professional career. One wears camouflage clothing. The other shows off in a suit. Two images that describe their polar opposites.

The clash was foreshadowed. Even more so because of the wave of international affection that Kuleba was able to arouse, who achieved privileged diplomatic relations with the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, France and other Western countries and even managed to open new Kiev embassies in countries where there had been no representation until then. The resigned Foreign Minister also made unprecedented tours of Asia, Latin America and Africa during which he was able to attract support for his nation’s war cause, managing, to a certain extent, to reduce Russian influence in the so-called Global South.

Knower of the enemy

Kuleba grew up under a strong Russian influence, having been born in northwestern Ukraine, a border area with the invading country. This has allowed him to know the enemy and its strategies well. He studied them at the Taras Shevchenko University in kyiv during his degree in International Law, an area then heavily influenced by the former Soviet culture in which he also obtained his doctorate. This CV soon led him to be hired by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he worked as a senior official between 2010 and 2013 in charge of relations with the US and of the permanent Ukrainian mission to the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe). He also headed the strategic communications department and was a pioneer in digital diplomacy.

After serving as ambassador to the Council of Europe and deputy minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration, Zelensky recruited him for his cabinet in 2020, a year after Kuleba left the previous government due to disagreements with then-President Viktor Yanukovych, who was very close to the Kremlin. He soon fell out of place in a team mostly made up of people from the new president’s immediate entourage during his years in the world of entertainment.

Kuleba has always liked to walk on other, simpler paths. His simplicity and good nature led him to establish a personal friendship with the American Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, whom he would take to eat at a McDonald’s or a chain of pizzerias run by former Ukrainian soldiers during his visits to kyiv. It was his style, fresh and friendly.

The results supported his strategy and no one outside Ukraine’s borders expected him to leave. In the country attacked by Russia, however, he has not caused any surprises. His successor is unknown, but he will certainly be more like Zelensky than the one who resigned on Wednesday and will bring “the new energy” that the president is calling for.