Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has submitted his resignation to the country's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, its speaker announced on Wednesday. Verkhovna Rada Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk shared a photo of Kuleba's resignation letter on Facebook, stating that it will be reviewed during an upcoming plenary session. Neither Stefanchuk nor Kuleba provided reasons for the resignation. A day earlier, Stefanchuk noted that he had received resignation letters from other Ukrainian ministers as part of what is being described as the largest government reshuffle since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war on February 24, 2022. The reasons for the reshuffle remain unspecified. Among those who have submitted their resignations are Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories Iryna Vereshchuk, Strategic Industries Minister Oleksandr Kamyshin, Justice Minister Denys Maliuska, and Environment Protection and Natural Resources Minister Ruslan Strilets. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also dismissed his deputy chief of staff, Rostyslav Shurma, who had served in the position since 2021, according to a decree published on the presidential website. Kuleba has held the post of foreign minister since 2020. During an interview on the local 1+1 TV channel in August 2023, Kuleba stated he would resign under two conditions: if President Zelenskyy asked him to do so, or if he found himself in "fundamental contradiction with foreign policy." Commenting on Kuleba's resignation, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told state news agency TASS: "Autumn leaves are falling, branches are being exposed," suggesting a critical view of the reshuffle within the Ukrainian government. — Agencies
