In the last twenty four hours, nearly a dozen Ukrainian government officials have resigned from their posts. Ukrainian state-owned media announced yesterday that the parliament was weighing the reshuffling of the cabinet. According to state-owned media: “The president’s team has been debating for a long time whether these ministries are needed at all, perhaps they should be reduced or combined.”
Today those dismissals have been announced. Here is a breakdown of the cabinet dismissals:
- Deputy Minister of Defense- Vyacheslav Shapovalov
- Deputy Minister of Development of Communities and Territories- Ivan Lukeryu
- Deputy Minister of Development of Communities and Territories- Vyacheslav Negodu
- Deputy Minister of Social Policy- Vitaliy Muzychenka
The Ukrainian government also announced the dismissal of five governors of Ukraine, with four of them being over criminal investigations. The list reads below:
- Dnipropetrovsk Oblast- Valentina Reznichenko
- Zaporizhzia Oblast- Oleksandra Starukha
- Sumy Oblast- Dmytro Zhivytskyi
- Kherson Oblast- Yaroslavl Yanushevich
Kyiv Oblast Governor Oleksiy Kulebu was also relieved of his post, but was then appointed to the Presidential Office Deputy Head. President Zelensky fired Kyrylo Tymoshenko earlier today from that post.
Additionally, Ukrainian Energy Minister Halushchenko, Youth and Sport Minister Gutzeit, and Strategic Industries Minister Riabkin are expected to resign. However, their resignations have not been tendered or approved by the parliament.
This shake up, especially the dismissal of several governors is another episode in President Zelensky’s attempt to maintain government unity after almost a year of war with the Russian Federation.
Russian state-owned media picked up on the story, with Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Zakharova commenting “In Ukraine, another, redistribution of the glade has begun. Already a clearing has remained from the clearing. And everyone is dividing, ghouls are insatiable.”
