Zelenskyy makes biggest shake-up of Ukraine’s wartime government

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is replacing the foreign affairs minister and other senior officials. The sweeping changes rattled some of Zelenskyy’s critics, who expressed concern that the reshuffle was a way for the president to further consolidate power by appointing loyalists.

Foreign affairs minister Dmytro Kuleba was the most prominent among a series of resignations on Wednesday that also included strategic industries minister Oleksandr Kamyshin, justice minister Denys Malyuska, Iryna Vereshchuk, deputy prime minister overseeing occupied territories, and Vitaliy Koval, head of the state property fund.

Kamyshin, the outgoing strategic industries minister, previously headed Ukraine’s state railway company and was credited with keeping trains running despite the war. Since then, he has spearheaded the revival of domestic arms production.

Writing on X on Wednesday, Kamyshin said he would remain part of Zelenskyy’s team. He added: “It’s time for new challenges.”

Hlib Vyshlinsky, executive director of Centre for Economic Strategy, said he was puzzled at footage of a minister being celebrated by MPs “as if they were not going to fire him, but were congratulating him on his appointment as prime minister”.

“I am trying to understand why they should be fired,” he said. “But no one is going to explain anything to citizens.”

Source: Financial Times.