Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, has resigned as part of a wide-ranging government reshuffle, designed to give what the president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, called “new strength” to his embattled country.
Kuleba’s departure – announced in a handwritten note – came as Russia continued its relentless air barrage.
At least seven people died in a missile strike in the western city of Lviv, with 38 injured. Andriy Sadovyi, the mayor of Lviv, usually considered a safe haven, said three of the seven dead were children.
A further five people were hurt in a Russian attack on Kryvyi Rih, Zelenskiy’s home city.
Speaking in a video address on Tuesday evening, Zelenskiy said he was refreshing his team ahead of “an extremely important autumn”. He promised “a slightly different emphasis” in foreign and domestic policy.
Several ministers have already submitted letters of resignation, and a presidential aide dismissed. It is set to be the biggest shake-up of senior officials since the beginning of Russia’s 2022 invasion, and had been expected for months.
The reshuffle has been portrayed as a political “reset” engineered by Zelenskiy and his close circle, before winter, which is expected to bring electricity shortages after Russian strikes on critical infrastructure and difficult news from the front.
Zelenskiy said in a Tuesday evening address that changes would be made to strengthen the government. He said: “The autumn will be extremely important for Ukraine. And our state institutions must be set up so that Ukraine achieves all the results that we need … We must strengthen some areas in the government, and personnel decisions have been prepared.”
Other key ministers who are reported to have submitted resignations are Olha Stefanishyna, the deputy prime minister in charge of leading Ukraine’s push to join the European Union, and Oleksandr Kamyshin, the minister for strategic industries, who oversees arms production and development. Some of those resigning may end up with other posts in government.
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The resignations will be discussed in parliament. David Arakhamia, the head of the Servant of the People party’s parliamentary faction, the largest in the Duma, said on Tuesday: “As promised, a major government reset can be expected this week. More than 50% of the cabinet of ministers’ staff will be changed. Tomorrow we will have a day of dismissals, and the day after that a day of appointments.”
