In Ukrainian media circles, there have been rumors for months that Volodymyr Zelensky He was preparing an ambitious restructuring of his government team. Finally, yesterday, six ministers and several senior officials announced their resignations. The president, in a country besieged by Russian bombing and in the grip of serious economic and social problems resulting from the war, said he needed “new energy.” “These measures,” he continued, “are linked to strengthening our state in several directions.”
Dmytro KulebaForeign Minister since March 2020, is the most significant sacrifice in the biggest government reshuffle since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and the former minister’s name appears in kyiv’s political gossip. Andrei Shybha as the main candidate for succession.
Some media outlets recall Kuleba’s clashes with Poland, one of the major allies in the war, in search of explanations. The latest incident was due to the lack of progress in the exhumation of victims of the massacre of Poles by Ukrainian nationalists during World War II in Volhynia. The minister even downplayed the value of the process, to the detriment of the Polish government. However, the MP Alexander Merezhko states in the Ukrainian newspaper The Kyiv Independent that “it is a big change that has been expected for a long time”, ruling out that the Polish question made a difference.
Some voices admit that the changes are numerous, but question their scope. “There are no profound changes,” he interprets Petro Burkovskyiiexecutive director of the influential Ilko Kucheriv Foundation, to this newspaper. “The changes are not structural.” This expert, who is well acquainted with the spheres of power in Ukraine, claims that Kuleba “was not independent,” “he did what was asked of him.” “He was just one of the channels used by the president to contact the outside world,” he adds, “and not even the most important.” The most important, he says, are Zelensky himself and Andrei Ermakhis right hand, which increases his doubts about the reason for the decision. In any case, “changes,” he says, “are not new to those who cover political news on a daily basis.”
Other analysts point out that on this occasion Zelensky is betting on a more ambitious agenda with a more closed circle of trust, with a concentration of ministries and more focused if possible on the war, a few weeks before going to the United States to present “a victory plan” for the current president, Joe Bidenand the two candidates for succession, the Democrat Kamala Harris and the republican Donald Trump.
Kuleba is the most famous deceased outside Ukraine, but the list includes the deputy minister Olga Stefanishinanegotiator of the European Union accession process, already Rostyslav Shurmahead of the presidential office. The Minister of Energy, the Minister of Justice and the Minister of the Environment, among others, also left the government.
This is the most profound restructuring carried out by Zelenskyy to date. But layoffs and resignations have been commonplace since February 2022. Last year, he fired Oleski Reznikov as Minister of Defense and replaced him with Rustem Umerov. In February he retired. Valery Zaloujny at the head of the armed forces and opted for Alexander SirskiIn May, suspicions of corruption led him to fire Mikola Solskii as Minister of Agriculture. A week ago, the sacrifice was Oleksii Monthhead of the Air Force, after the accident in which they lost one of the F-16 fighter jets delivered by the Netherlands.
Insufficient changes?
Zelensky’s call for “new energy” comes at a critical time for the country, battered by Russian attacks, which needs increased military assistance from its Western allies and permission from the United States, Britain and France to attack with their missiles long-range military targets inside Russia.
Burkovskyi criticizes the fact that the president is not going further with the reform, that there are no more layoffs and resignations. “There is no news on education, health or anti-corruption policies”he says, “and these are problems we have to solve if we want to win the war.”
There are hundreds of thousands of children left in the country without the possibility of continuing their education normally, and “as a father and as a soldier,” says Burkovskyi, now a conscript, “I am surprised that teachers’ salaries have been cut.” The same is happening with doctors and nurses in hospitals. Many of them have left the country to work in Poland, Germany or Italy, and the deterioration of health care affects the elderly and the chronically ill.
The source also highlights the lack of progress in the fight against corruption. “We are not the most corrupt country in the world, as is being preached Orban And asset“, he says, “but we still have many problems.” He insists that the fight against corruption is “a cause of national survival,” a way to keep alive the support of allies like Germany or Spain: not only on the front lines, but also to fund schools and hospitals. “The president must decide whether he wants to win the war or whether he wants his people to get rich,” he says, “because you can’t do both at the same time.”
