Ukrainian lawmakers began voting in Kyiv on September 4 on the possible dismissals of cabinet members and other senior officials after a spate of resignations tendered in the past 24 hours that followed President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's suggestion of a looming government shake-up.
Deputies dismissed one deputy prime minister and three ministers, but the session did not take up the fate of one of the highest-profile resignations, that of Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
Kuleba, one of the main faces of Kyiv's efforts to gird international support since Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, submitted his resignation earlier in the day.
Commenting on Kuleba's and the rest of the 22-member cabinet's futures, Zelenskiy said on September 4 that "we need new energy, and these steps relate to strengthening our state in various areas."
Parliament speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk informed the public of Kuleba's resignation, as well as those a day earlier of two deputy prime ministers and three cabinet ministers as part of what could be the biggest cabinet overhaul since Russia's full-scale invasion began 36 months ago.
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The head of Zelenskiy's Servant of the People party, Davyd Arakhamia, said on September 3 that more than half of the government's 22 cabinet positions would be changed in a "big government reboot."
Word of the move precedes Zelenskiy's expected visit later this month to the United States at what many regard as a crucial juncture of the war, with Russian troops advancing in eastern Ukraine and Ukrainian troops in control of about 1,200 square kilometers of Russian territory in a monthold incursion of their own.
Pressure among allies has been building for Washington and other capitals to remove curbs on Kyiv's use of Western-supplied weapons and artillery, including to allow for attacks deeper inside Russian territory.
In one of lawmakers' first moves in the September 4 session, they failed to dismiss Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories Iryna Vereshchuk with just 214 votes in the 450-plus Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament.
They approved the dismissal of Strategic Industries Minister Oleksandr Kamyshin, who has overseen domestic arms production, with 243 votes. Lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak of Zelenskiy's party suggested Kamyshin would become a strategic adviser to Zelenskiy but that could not be independently confirmed.
Lawmakers also approved the dismissal of Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna and of Environment Minister Ruslan Strilets.
A vote on the dismissal of State Property Fund Chairman Vitaliy Koval fell short by one vote, according to lawmaker and Zelenskiy ally Oleksiy Honcharenko.
They did not appear to have voted on the resignation of Justice Minister Denys Malyuska.
Zelenskiy has said more changes to the government are coming in an effort to strengthen the it and deliver the results that the country needs.
"That is why there will be a number of personnel changes in the cabinet of ministers and the office of the president," he said on September 3, indicating that the changes would be coming in the fall.
Zelenskiy also said Ukraine needs more interaction between the central government and communities, especially during preparation for the winter season.
Kuleba in particular has been regarded by many as an effective messenger of Ukraine's warnings that stopping Russia's aggression is essential for the rest of Europe and the West along with pleas to continue massive military and other supplies by NATO members to a nonmember defending itself against Russian attack.