UKRAINE FM KULEBA STEPS DOWN JOINING A WAVE OF RESIGNATIONS

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has handed in his letter of resignation to the country’s parliament, its speaker said on Wednesday.

Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk in a statement on Facebook shared a photo of the resignation letter, saying it will be considered during an upcoming plenary session.

Neither Stefanchuk nor Kuleba have given any reasons for the resignation.

A day earlier, Stefanchuk announced that he received resignation letters from other Ukrainian ministers for reasons that have yet to be determined.

Kuleba has served as Ukraine’s foreign minister since 2020.

During a morning programme on the local 11 TV channel in August 2023, Kuleba said he would step down from the office under two conditions — if President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked him to do so or if he should get into “fundamental contradiction with foreign policy”.​​​​​​​

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Kuleba is the latest and most senior Ukrainian wartime minister to resign, joining a wave of top officials who have stepped down since last night.

In the past 24 hours, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Olga Stefanishyna, Justice Minister Denys Malyuska, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk, Strategic Industries Minister Oleksandr Kamyshin, and State Property Fund Head Vasyl Koval have all tendered their resignations.

Though they have not publicly explained their reasons, Zelenskyy announced Tuesday night that a government reshuffle was imminent.

“Autumn will be extremely important for Ukraine. And our state institutions must be set up in such a way that Ukraine will achieve all the results we need — for all of us,” Zelenskyy said in a statement.

“To do this, we need to strengthen some areas in the Government — and personnel decisions have been prepared. There will also be changes in the president’s office.”