Cabinet reshuffle: Kyiv appoints Dmytro Kuleba’s deputy as foreign minister

Brussels – The change at the top of the Ukrainian executive initiated by President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier in the week, which had led to the resignation of Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba last Wednesday (Sept. 4), is proceeding. The very next day, the Verkhovna Rada (the nation’s single-chamber Parliament) approved the appointment of the latter’s deputy, Andrii Sybiha, to lead the country’s diplomacy and international efforts.

In the head of state’s intentions, the most significant governmental reshuffle since the start of the large-scale Russian invasion is to reenergize Ukraine as another brutal winter is about to begin. Thus, Kyiv’s deputies approved Thursday (Sept. 5) Zelensky’s proposed figure to replace Kuleba, who had become one of Ukraine’s best-known faces abroad over the past two and a half years. There were 258 votes in favour of Sybiha in the Rada, while no opposing views were expressed. 

The 49-year-old Sybiha, who has a solid diplomatic career (from 2016 to 2021, he was ambassador to Turkey, among other things) and has long worked within the president’s office, became Kuleba’s number two last April. He will thus join the other new ministers approved by Parliament. At the same time, his predecessor, who has been Kyiv’s face and voice in relations with allies for years, should now be given a position concerning strengthening ties with NATO.

The government reshuffle is involving several other political figures. Olga Stefanishyna (former deputy prime minister in charge of European and Euro-Atlantic Integration) has become minister of Justice, Oleksiy Kuleba will manage Community, Territorial and Infrastructure Development, and Svetlana Grinchuk will take charge of the Ministry of Environment. Mykolai Tochitsky will be in charge of Culture and Strategic Communications, while Vitaliy Koval (who previously headed the State Property Fund) has been appointed to Agriculture. Former deputy premier Iryna Vereshchuk will take the head of the Weapons and Defense Division of the President’s Office; Herman Smetanin, who since June 2023 has headed Ukroboronprom, a company in the defence sector, should end up at Strategic Industries.