Since early morning, deputies of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine have been voting on issuing the consent needed to dismiss seven ministers in Denys Shmyhal's government. The heads of several important ministries have been submitting their resignations one after another in recent hours. The biggest media stir was definitely caused by the fact that the following also wanted to say goodbye to their positions: Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba.
Changes in Ukraine. Dmytro Kuleba has been “on the way out” for a long time
We asked about the aforementioned element of excitement, or perhaps even surprise, after the decision of the head of the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Yuri Panchenko, political commentator of the Prava portal. According to the political scientist, the information may seem downright shocking, but rather for public opinion in Western countries, and not among people inside Ukrainian politics.
– Talks about Minister Kułeba's resignation have been going on for a long time. The politician himself gave signals that he would not hold on to his position at all costs. and if necessary, he will be ready to declare his resignation. He even mentioned that he had already thought up some activities in case of dismissal – he says.
According to Panchenko, speaking about the resignation of Dmytro Kuleba, you should look towards the Presidential Palaceand specifically President Volodymyr Zelensky. He is to be the main initiator of changes that will consequently lead to the strengthening of his decision-making power.
– In my opinion, this is a consequence of the situation when There are two decision-making centers in conducting foreign policy. On the one hand, we have the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the other, Volodymyr Zelensky's foreign policy advisors. In such a situation, the one who is closer to the decision-making center, i.e. around the president, benefits. It was absolutely no coincidence that the current deputy head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the candidate for the new minister is Andriy Sybigawho previously served as deputy head of the President's Cabinet, he emphasizes.
Changes in the Ukrainian government. Crisis at the highest levels of government?
The Ukrainian political commentator also commented on the issue in an interview with Interia. the issue of the alleged crisis in the government of Denys Shmyhal and the possible departure of the Prime MinisterIn his opinion, it is difficult to talk about purely decision-making aspects, errors in the scope of the introduced law, or the rejection of beneficial laws. The President of Ukraine plays the leading role in all this.who “deals the cards”.
– Today's events show that we are not dealing with a crisis in Prime Minister Shmyhal's government, but rather with the prevailing dissatisfaction of the president. Volodymyr Zelensky clearly wants to hold ministers accountable by removing them from their jobs. It's a matter of showing your decisiveness. I want change, now, immediatelyand these politicians did not guarantee it – he states.
– As for Szmyhal himself, he is not worried about his job, because he is a loyal man to the president – he adds.
Political commotion in Kiev. MP on “politicians' burnout”
The mood related to the changes in the Ukrainian government is being toned down by Oleg Dunda. The politician from the presidential party Servant of the People in an interview with Interia agreed with his predecessor that the decision to resign by the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is not a surprise and “it was only a matter of time before Minister Kułeba decided to do so“At the same time, the parliamentarian admits that the change in this position was certain since the aforementioned former advisor in the Presidential Office Andriy Sybiga joined the ministry.
According to Oleg Dunda, however, we should not talk about “authoritarian tendencies” of Volodymyr Zelenskybut only a certain stage of political activity.
– The entire “reset”, as it is called in the media, is not primarily about Minister Kułeba or even the head of the Ministry of Justice. It's just that this whole government has some kind of burnout. Most of its members have been in their positions for a very long time, including the Minister of Foreign Affairs, they they simply don't have the strength for such work anymorein a state of war. Changes had to take place here – he explains.
Referring to the issue of the desire to leave as many as seven ministers at once, Oleg Dunda stated that it is related to the need radical changes in the country's internal policy.
– Even such serious changes, because we are talking about the desire to dismiss seven ministers. do not mean global changes in war strategy. Here there is a completely different issue, namely a new impulse is needed. This government must deal with the internal affairs of the country. The priority must be meeting basic internal needswhich is related, among other things, to a change in the state’s economic policy, he stressed.
Surprising changes in Ukrainian government. Seven ministers leave in one day
In the last few dozen hours, Ukrainian media reported on the following resignations submitted by ministers in Denys Shmyhal's government.
Documents informing about the intention to resign were submitted by: Iryna Wereshchuk (Minister for the Integration of Temporarily Occupied Territories), Olga Stefaniszyn (Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of European Integration), Russian Sagittarius (Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources), Vitaly Koval (Head of the State Property Fund), Denis Maliuska (Minister of Justice), Oleksandr Kamyshin (Minister of Strategic Industries) and as the last Dmytro Kułeba (Minister of Foreign Affairs).
This last name in particular caused the greatest stir among journalists and commentators. On the planned departure of the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ruslan Stephanchuk, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, informed.
“To the Supreme Council a letter arrived from Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba regarding his resignation“The statement will be considered at one of the upcoming plenary sessions,” he wrote on social media, attaching a photo of a letter handwritten by the MFA chief.
A moment later, it was announced that the resignations would be voted on during Wednesday's session. First, the matter would go to individual committees, and then the decision would be handed over to the deputies sitting in the Verkhovna Rada.
At the same time, it was announced that the name of the successor of the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be announced by the president in the next few hoursand his nomination will be announced the following day.
Heated discussions in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Some ministers remain in their positions
Despite earlier announcements, not all the motions for dismissal were passed during Wednesday's session of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Out of the seven ministers, in only four cases Parliamentarians agreed to change the head of the ministry.
They were dismissed from their positions. Oleksandr Kamyshin, Denis Maliuska, Olga Stefanishin and Ruslan StreletsThey will continue to hold their positions temporarily. Iryna Wereshchuk and Vitaly Koval.
In case of Dmyto Kułeby the matter was not subject to a vote. The chairman of the meeting, Ruslan Stefanchuk, decided to announce a break before the discussion began.
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