Kyiv [Ukraine]: Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba submitted his letter of resignation on Wednesday, The Kyiv Independent reported, citing Ukraine's parliament speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk.
Stefanchuk further added that Kuleba's resignation will be "considered at one of the upcoming plenary meetings"; however, he did not provide a date.
"It is a big reshuffle. It was expected rather long ago," lawmaker Oleksandr Merezhko told the Kyiv Independent.
"Ahead of us are difficult times, difficult autumn and winter. Perhaps this reshuffle is somehow related to the new period of challenges for Ukraine," he added.
Kuleba has been serving as Ukraine's Foreign Minister since 2020. He was also at the forefront throughout Ukraine's ongoing war with Russia, where he engaged with the international allies and secured new partnerships since the beginning of the conflict.
Meanwhile, a day before Kuleba submitted his resignation letter, the country's online newspaper, Ukrainska Pravda, reported on September 3, citing sources that Kuleba would be dismissed and that his replacement was still under consideration. The most likely candidate to take the position would be Deputy Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, the sources revealed, as per the report.
It is important to know that Kuleba's resignation follows several other high-profile ministers submitting their letters of resignation as well. The names include Strategic Industries Minister Alexander Kamyshin, Justice Minister Denys Maliuska, Ecology Minister Ruslan Strilets, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna, and Deputy Prime Minister and Reintegration Minister Iryna Vereshchuk, according to The Kyiv Independent.
Moreover, the head of the State Property Fund of Ukraine (SPFU), Vitalii Koval, also submitted his resignation nine months after being in office.
The cause of resignations in Ukraine is yet to be known. The announcement followed months of rumours that multiple Ukrainian ministries may be replaced.
Zelenskyy stated in March that after a reorganisation of his inner circle, Ukrainians should anticipate other cabinet reorganisations in the future. Then, Deputy Prime Minister for Reconstruction and Minister of Infrastructure, Alexander Kubrakov, and Minister of Agriculture, Mykola Solskyi, were too dismissed in May.
