President Volodymyr Zelensky pushed ahead with his sweeping reshuffle of senior government posts as the head of Ukraine’s ruling party released a slate of nine candidates for top cabinet posts on Wednesday evening.
If parliament approves the new candidates, which is expected, Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, who resigned earlier Wednesday, will be replaced by first deputy foreign minister, Andriy Sibiha, according to party chief David Arakhamia.
The political upheaval comes after a series of Russian missile attacks and battlefield gains in recent weeks, ahead of Mr Zelensky’s important trip to Washington, where he plans to unveil a “victory plan” for the war.
Mr Zelensky said on Wednesday he was working to bring “new energy” to state institutions, hours after rescue workers pulled bodies from the rubble of an overnight missile attack in the historic city center of Lviv, near the Polish border. .
In a heartbreaking scene, Yaroslav Bazilevich stood on ancient cobblestone streets covered in dust and blood, stitched up by paramedics as rescuers pulled the lifeless bodies of his wife and three daughters from the ruins.
“I don’t know what words to use to support the father,” the mayor of Lviv, Andriy Sadovy, said in a statement.
More than half a dozen senior officials were asked to tender their resignations in the country’s parliament this week, although many were expected to remain in the administration with new portfolios.
Among the more significant changes, Alexander Kamishin, the influential minister for domestic arms production, is to join the president’s office, where he will “continue to deal with weapons and infrastructure issues,” Mr. Arakhmia said.
Olha Stefanyshina, formerly Ukraine’s deputy prime minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration, was expected to head the justice ministry, a strong signal of the government’s commitment to fighting corruption, analysts said.
But analysts also said the reshuffle did not signal a fundamental change in domestic or foreign policy.
While the changes had been under consideration since February, Mykhailo Minakov, a senior adviser on Ukraine at the Wilson Center’s Canaan Institute, said Mr. Zelensky acted now because “Ukraine has to prepare for a new phase of war and a new phase of diplomacy. “
Mr. Zelensky himself did not offer an explanation for the activity, saying that he expected “some areas of our foreign and domestic policies to have a slightly different emphasis.”
The Ukrainian leader said Russian strikes on civilian infrastructure, including a campaign to disable the country’s energy grid, underscore the need for “greater interaction between central authorities and communities” in what promises to be a grim winter.
“The autumn will be extremely important for Ukraine,” Mr Zelensky said in an address to the nation before the repairs on Tuesday night. “Our state institutions must be established in such a way that Ukraine will achieve all the results we need – for all of us.”
At the top of Mr Zelensky’s priorities is American support for what he has described as his nation’s plan for victory.
Mr. Zelensky said last week that he planned to share the plan with President Biden when he travels to the United States later this month. He said he supported the plan with presidential candidates, Vice President Kamala Harris and Donald J. Will also send to Trump.
Given the complexities of the current diplomatic moment, the decision to replace Foreign Minister Mr. Kuleba surprised many analysts. He has played a central role in two major goals concerning the United States: pressuring the Biden administration to lift restrictions on the use of Western weapons to reach deep inside Russia, and ensuring that Ukraine does not isolate any candidate for the US presidency.
Some critics denounced the changes in government as hasty and ill-advised during a critical moment in the war and as a continuation of Mr. Zelensky’s tendency to concentrate power in his hands, especially if it establishes loyalists unwilling to challenge him or the powerful chief. Of the office of the President, Andrey Yermak.
That could lead to an “increase in Yermak’s influence,” said Ukrainian political analyst Yevan Mahda, who added that increased power in the office of the president could come at the expense of parliament and cabinet ministers.
Ivanna Klimpus-Sintsadze, head of the parliamentary committee on Ukraine’s integration into the European Union, said key government posts had been vacant for months, and she warned that this week’s move undermined checks and balances within the government.
“Society, which no longer has time for this, throws random people into key government positions, accustomed to the absence of people in these positions, in the absence of personality of both legislative and executive branches, strategy and legitimacy.” she said.
Mr. Minakov of the Wilson Center said he spoke to several lawmakers Wednesday morning who had no idea of the switch until they read about it in the news. It underscores the diminished role parliament played after the outbreak of full-scale war.
“By law, the cabinet and parliament are as important as the president, but in practice we see that all decisions are made by the president’s office,” Mr. Minakov said.
But others were more charitable. “This is Zelensky’s style of work,” said Volodymyr Fesenko, a Ukrainian political analyst. “When he sees stability at work, he changes people,” he added. “He thinks new people will be more motivated and bring new ideas.”
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