Several ministers are resigning from their posts in Kyiv. This is intended to facilitate a government reshuffle planned by President Zelensky. However, parliament has rejected some of the resignations.
In the midst of the war with Russia, the Ukrainian parliament has dismissed several ministers of their own accord, thus initiating a government restructuring announced by President Volodymyr Zelensky. The handwritten resignations of Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna, Justice Minister Denys Malyuska, Armaments Minister Oleksander Kamyshin and Environment Minister Ruslan Strilets were accepted, Ukrainian media reported. Only Malyuska and Kamyshin appeared in person in the Verkhovna Rada and reported on their time in office.
Maljuska, the longest-serving minister in Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal’s cabinet, is resigning. The Minister of Justice had held the post since August 2019. Before his report, members of the presidential party “Servant of the People” greeted him with a standing ovation. There was no vote on the request for the dismissal of Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, which had only been submitted that morning.
MPs reject requests for dismissal from two officials
The dismissals of Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk and the head of the State Property Fund, Vitaly Koval, initially failed due to a lack of votes. Members of parliament had criticized the fact that the vote was to take place without the candidates having previously given their account. A repeat vote is expected on Thursday. According to media reports, Koval is being considered as the new Minister of Agriculture. Vereshchuk, in turn, is set to move to the President’s Office.
The dismissed Stefanishyna, on the other hand, is again slated to become deputy head of government for EU and NATO integration and will also be given the Ministry of Justice. Kamyshin will be given a new post in the President’s office. He will continue to be responsible for the arms industry. The current Deputy Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk will take over the vacant post of Minister of the Environment.
Key ministries such as the Finance, Interior and Defense Ministries are not affected by the restructuring. According to media reports, the replacement of Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal with the former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Affairs Yulia Svyrydenko also appears to be off the table for the time being.
The day before, several ministers had already submitted their resignations to parliament. The leader of the Servant of the People party, David Arachamija, wrote that more than half of the ministerial posts would be filled. This was preceded by announcements by President Volodymyr Zelensky that government work would be improved through new appointments.
Critics see the reshuffles as activism
There is still speculation about the purpose of the cabinet reshuffle. Many government members who have now been dismissed are expected to remain in high office – albeit in a different position. Critics see the reshuffles as activism to feign change. The ongoing difficult situation at the front and the problems with the energy supply due to the constant Russian attacks on the infrastructure are causing the population’s dissatisfaction with their own leadership to grow.
Selensky himself justified the restructuring with the need for a fresh start. “We need new energy today,” said the head of state and thanked the ministers for their work so far. However, he did not want to comment specifically on the personnel details.
Opposition MP Iryna Heraschtschenko, on the other hand, wrote on Facebook after the vote: “10 of 21 ministers are missing from the Zelenskyj government today. The government is effectively unable to act.”
Oleksander Dubinsky, a member of parliament originally elected for Zelensky’s party and currently in custody on charges of treason, described the process as “eyewash”. “The main problem that is causing Ukraine to lose the war against the Russian Federation is the incompetence of the regional governments, which were appointed by (Andriy) Yermak from the presidential office,” he wrote on Telegram. The rampant corruption is also problematic. The restructuring of the government will therefore not solve the problems. Many observers also attribute the reshuffles to the growing influence of the head of the presidential office, Andriy Yermak.
Ukraine has been fending off a Russian invasion for over two and a half years. Prime Minister Shmyhal has been in office since 2020.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
