Ukraine’s weapons minister resigned on Tuesday (3) ahead of another defense role. Four other Ukrainian ministers also resigned in a major shake-up of Ukraine’s government at a critical moment in the war with Russia.
The resignations of Strategic Industries Minister Oleksandr Kamyshin, Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna and the ministers of Justice, Environment and Reintegration leave more than a third of the cabinet vacant following resignations earlier this year.
President Volodymyr Zelensky and his political allies could move to fill the positions before he travels this month to the United States, where he hopes to present a “plan for victory” to U.S. President Joe Biden, a key ally.
“Autumn will be extremely important for Ukraine. And our state institutions must be configured so that Ukraine achieves all the results we need – for all of us,” Zelensky said in his evening address.
“To do this, we need to strengthen some areas of the government and changes in its composition have been prepared. There will also be changes in the cabinet,” he added.
Zelensky also dismissed Rostyslav Shurma, one of his deputy chiefs of staff, from the economy portfolio, according to a decree published on the presidential website.
David Arakhamia, a senior lawmaker in Zelensky’s party, said there would be a “major reset of the government” that would see more than half of the ministers change.
“Tomorrow, a day of layoffs awaits us, and a day of appointments the day after,” he said.
Stefanishyna, whose portfolio has focused on Kiev’s bid to join the European Union and the NATO military alliance, could be named head of a larger ministry combining her former role or that of the Justice Ministry, public broadcaster Suspilne said, citing a source in Zelensky’s party.
Meanwhile, Kamyshin, who has been leading Ukraine’s effort to increase production of drone defense and long-range missile strikes to counter Russia, wrote on Telegram that he will continue “working in the defense sector, but in a different role.”
Kamyshin, who is 40, is considered a rising star in the government.
He was appointed in March 2023 after building an image as an effective manager of the national railways, a vital logistics resource for civilians and the military in the first year of the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Since taking over defense production, Ukraine has produced thousands of long-range drones to attack Russia. Last month, Zelensky said Kiev had used a new “drone missile” for the first time and also tested a new ballistic missile.
Critical Moment in the War
On the battlefield, Ukraine is pressing a risky cross-border incursion into Russia’s Kursk region as Moscow’s troops advance with increasing speed in eastern Ukraine.
Russia has stepped up its long-range missile strikes. At least 51 people were killed and 271 injured on Tuesday (3) in one of the deadliest attacks of the year, when Russian forces hit a military institute in the central city of Poltava with two ballistic missiles.
Lawmakers and political analysts have been expecting major changes in the government since the beginning of the season. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has hinted at the possibility of combining several portfolios into one ministry.
At least five portfolios have become vacant since ministers were fired or resigned earlier this year, including the important agriculture and infrastructure portfolios.
Opposition lawmaker Iryna Herashchenko said: “It is a government without ministers, an intellectual and personnel crisis to which the authorities are turning a blind eye.”
She called for a national unity government that would end the tight grip on the reins of power exercised by Zelensky’s political team.
Here’s what we know about Ukraine’s incursion into Russian territory
This content was originally published in Five Ukrainian ministers resign amid major government shake-up on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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