Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, has resigned ahead of an expected significant cabinet overhaul.
This is coming after a new wave of Russian missiles killed at least seven people, including a toddler.
Kuleba is the latest high-profile member of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s cabinet to resign as Russia’s invasion proceeds, and his decision comes ahead of the president’s scheduled visit to the United States this month.
Kuleba, Ukraine’s chief ambassador, has played a prominent role in Zelensky’s administration, particularly overseas.
Ukraine’s parliament will consider the foreign minister’s resignation at one of its plenary meetings soon, speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk said on Telegram.
Davyd Arakhamia, the majority leader of Ukraine’s parliament, said major changes are expected in the cabinet this week.
Among those who have resigned was the Minister for Strategic Industries Oleksandr Kamyshin, who was in charge of weapons production. He is expected to assume another defence role, Reuters reported.
The resignations also include the justice, environment, and reintegration ministers.
In his nightly address on Tuesday, Zelensky said the coming fall will be “extremely important for Ukraine” and as such “our state institutions must be set up so that Ukraine achieves all the results we need.”
The expected reshuffle came as Russian missiles continued to rain down on Ukrainian cities.
Lviv’s mayor Andriy Sadovyi confirmed the deaths and said residential buildings were damaged in the attack.
Lviv, in Ukraine’s far west, is generally considered one of the safer places in the country, and many people from eastern regions relocated there to seek safety.
