MFA to be headed by Sybiha, while Vereshchuk and Kamyshyn will be transferred to President’s Office - "servant of people" Arakhamia on personnel changes
On Wednesday, 4 September, a meeting of the Servant of the People faction was held with the participation of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. They discussed personnel changes in the government and the President's Office.
This was announced by the head of the Servant of the People faction, David Arakhamia, Censor.NET reports.
Instead of Dmytro Kuleba, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be headed by his first deputy, former Ukrainian Ambassador to Turkey Andrii Sybiha.
Oleksii Kuleba will be appointed Minister of Community Development, Territories and Infrastructure.
"He will head the ministry as it is now. Subsequently, as planned, it will be divided into infrastructure and regional policy," said the People's Deputy.
Olha Stefanishyna will become the Minister of Justice and Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration.
The Ministry of Veterans will be headed by current Deputy Defense Minister Nataliia Kalmykova.
"The Ministry of Culture and Information Policy will be headed by Mykola Tochytskyi. At this stage, we need to step up the fight against disinformation, and we need a candidate with international experience for this task," Arakhamia said.
Vitalii Koval, head of the State Property Fund, will head the Ministry of Agrarian Policy. Matvii Bidnyi will become Minister of Youth and Sports. The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources will be headed by Svitlana Hrynchuk, who is currently Deputy Minister of Energy. Herman Smetanin is to head the Ministry of Strategic Industries.
"Oleksandr Kamyshin (former head of the Ministry of Strategic Industries - ed.) is being transferred to the Presidential Office, where he will continue to deal with weapons and infrastructure. Also, Iryna Vereshchuk (head of the Ministry of Reintegration - ed.) is being transferred to the Presidential Office, who will work as a specialized deputy head of the Presidential Office," said the head of the faction.
In addition, according to Arakhamia, the faction discussed the creation of a new institution in the government with the working title of the Ministry of Return of Ukrainians.
"We are discussing candidates who could head it," the deputy added.
What is known about the changes in the government
On Wednesday, 4 September, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine supported the resignation of several ministers.
In particular, the parliament supported the dismissal of Oleksandr Kamyshyn as Minister of Strategic Industries and Industry. The decision was supported by 243 People`s Deputies.
The Verkhovna Rada also supported the resignation of Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Ruslan Strilets. "244 People`s Deputies voted in favour.
In addition, the Verkhovna Rada supported the resignation of Justice Minister Denys Maliuska. "249 People`s Deputies voted in favour.
The Parliament also supported the resignation of Olha Stefanishyna as Vice Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine.
Instead, there were no votes for the resignation of Iryna Vereshchuk from the post of Deputy Prime Minister - Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine. She remains in office for now. The Verkhovna Rada also did not uphold the decision to dismiss Koval from the post of head of the State Property Fund.
The Verkhovna Rada has not yet voted on the resignation of Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, who submitted a letter of resignation today.
