WESTERN PERSPECTIVE
Zelenskiy orders war's biggest reshuffle to give Ukraine 'new energy'
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday that Ukraine needed "new energy", as he ordered a major government reshuffle at a crucial juncture in the war against Russia.
A total of six ministers, including Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, submitted their resignation and parliament accepted the resignations of four.
They included the resignations of a deputy prime minister in charge of European integration, the strategic industries minister overseeing Ukraine's arms production and two other ministers, the lawmakers said.
"We need new energy today, and these steps are related only to the strengthening of our state in different directions," Zelenskiy told media during a joint news conference with a visiting Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris.
Lawmakers said that parliament was expected to consider Kuleba's resignation on Thursday.
After Zelenskiy, 43-year-old Kuleba was the best-known face of Ukraineoverseas, meeting leaders around the world and lobbying for military and political support in fluent English.
Later on Wednesday, Zelenskiy met lawmakers from his "Servant of the People" party, and the leader of the parliamentary group said those attending backed the president's calls for changes in the government line-up.
"Based on the results of the meeting of the faction, a general picture of personnel rotations was worked out to strengthen the state," faction leader David Arakhamia wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
On the list of candidates being considered by deputies to replace ministers who resigned was First Deputy Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha as a potential successor to Kuleba.
RESHUFFLE DELAYED
Analysts said the government reset had been planned for some time but was postponed as Zelenskiy had focused on talks with Kyiv's Western partners to secure military and financial aid.
"This is a planned personnel overhaul of the government," said Volodymyr Fesenko, a Kyiv-based political analyst.
"Now half of the government will be renewed. This is Zelenskiy's style. He believes that the new minister brings new energy, new approaches, works more actively. He expects exactly this effect."
Fesenko did not expect a major foreign policy change following Kuleba's expected dismissal.
The Kremlin said that government changes in Ukraine would not affect a peace negotiation process in any way, although such talks appear a distant prospect with the two warring parties far apart in their objectives.
The next few months are key for Zelenskiy as he seeks to win more support from the West and seize back the initiative in the war with Russia, after its invasion in February 2022.
Later this month Zelenskiy travels to the U.S. where he hopes to present a "victory plan" to President Joe Biden, a key ally.
Russian forces are advancing in the east of Ukraine while Kyiv's troops have made an incursion into Russia's Kursk region.
Moscow has intensified drone and missile attacks in recent weeks, while Kyiv launched a mass drone attack on Russia's energy infrastructure over the weekend.
On Tuesday, at least 50 people, including soldiers, were killed by two missiles in the central Ukrainian town of Poltava in the deadliest single attack of the war this year.
Analysts said Zelenskiy's talent pool was limited and expected some outgoing ministers to be reappointed to new roles.
Outgoing Strategic Industries Minister Oleksandr Kamyshin, who oversaw a jump in domestic arms production, said on Tuesday he would remain in the defence sector in a different role.
Among the other positions being considered were the justice minister and culture and information minister, who would have a say over countering Russia's narrative about the war.
Lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak said parliament would continue considering resignations and appointments on Thursday. For now, 10 out of 21 ministerial portfolios were vacant.
RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE
Russia provides details of strike on Ukrainian military training center
Moscow’s forces have carried out a high-precision strike on a Ukrainian training center in the city of Poltava, the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed on Wednesday. The facility was housing a number of foreign instructors who were training Kiev’s troops in communication, electronic warfare, and drone operation, according to Moscow.
The strike was initially reported by Ukrainian officials, who stated on Tuesday that two Russian Iskander ballistic missiles had hit the School of Military Communication and Information Technology, resulting in the nearly 300 casualties, including nearly 50 killed.
While the Russian Defense Ministry did not initially comment on the attack, it confirmed the strike in an update on Telegram on Wednesday. It said Russian forces had conducted “a high-precision strike on the 179th Joint Training Center of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the city of Poltava” on September 3.
The ministry added that foreign instructors had been preparing specialists in communications and electronic warfare at the facility, as well as operators of unmanned aerial vehicles participating in strikes on civilian targets on the territory of the Russian Federation.
Previously, Kherson Region Governor Vladimir Saldo had also claimed in an interview with RIA Novosti that the training center had effectively served as a base for NATO instructors, and was being used to train newly mobilized Ukrainians who had recently been “caught on the streets.”
Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has used the attack on the center to demand more air-defense systems from his Western backers.
Meanwhile, the New York Times has claimed that the strike was a “demoralizing blow to Ukraine,” given how Kiev’s troops were already retreating from relentless Russian advances along the main front in Donbass.
Reuters/RT