Two Ukrainian deputy prime ministers on September 3 tendered their resignations after three other ministers stepped down as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said more changes to Ukraine's government were coming.
The two deputy ministers who resigned are Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna and Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories Iryna Vereshchuk.
Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk said the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) had received separate statements from Stefanishyna and Vereshchuk saying they had decided to resign.
"After almost three years in the government, I submitted my resignation today," Vereshchuk said. She thanked Zelenskiy for his confidence in her and expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and colleagues in the government for their cooperation.
Stefanchuk said the statements of Stefanishyna and Vereshchuk had been received and "will be considered at one of the nearest plenary sessions."
Their resignations came hours after Strategic Industries Minister Oleksandr Kamyshin, Justice Minister Denys Malyuska, and Environment Minister Ruslan Strilets resigned. Kamyshin, who oversees domestic arms production, said he would continue working in the defense sector but in a different role.
Zelenskiy noted in his evening address that state institutions should be configured so that Ukraine can achieve the best results.
"That is why there will be a number of personnel changes in the cabinet of ministers and the office of the president," he said, indicating that the changes would be coming in the fall.
He said the changes would result in slightly different weight given to individual areas of foreign and domestic policy.
Ukraine needs more interaction between the central government and communities, especially during preparation for the winter season, he said.
Secondly, Ukraine has already achieved significant results in defense production, Zelenskiy said, indicating the reason for the change in Kamyshin's role.
