Ukrainian government must strengthen its institutions, Zelenskyy says in regards to government shake-up

According to the president, fall 2024 will be incredibly critical for Ukraine, and "government institutions must be built in such a way that Ukraine's achieves all necessary results."

In order to do this, President Zelenskyy stated that his administration would be "strengthening several directions of the government's work", as well as implementing personnel changes in the Office of the President itself.

Zelenskyy named Ukraine's fall 2024 priorities and commented on each:

1. Cooperation with society – in preparations for the winter season, the government must strengthen cooperation between state authority and society.
   
2. Defense industry – Ukraine has also achieved success in this field, and the next step is to strengthen that progress by simplifying procedures to attract investment in strategic industries.
   
3. Strengthen cooperation with NATO – this requires a certain level of coordination in order for integration and cooperation to progress.
   
4. Negotiations with the European Union – the start of serious negotiations over Ukraine's EU membership bid requires clear legal and political work, with personal accountability for its completion.
   
5. Defending Ukraine's cultural heritage and countering Russian disinformation – Ukraine must leverage its earned authority and trust to fulfill new tasks, such as expanding its informational, cultural, and diplomatic activities.
   

Personnel changes in the  Zelenskyy administration – what we know

On Sept. 3, the chairman of the parliament and a leading member of the ruling Servant of the People party, David Arakhamia, stated that "a large overhaul of the government" would occur that week.

That same day, it became known that the Minister of Strategic Industries Oleksandr Kamyshin, the Minister of Justice Denys Malyuska, and the Minister of Environmental Protection Ruslan Strilets had all written letters of resignation.

The head of the State Property Fund, Vitaliy Koval, also handed in his resignation.

Later on Sept. 3, the Zelenskyy administration announced that vice-premiers Olha Stefanishyna and Iryna Vereshchuk would both be sacked.

According to Ukrainian news outlet RBC-Ukraine, citing their own sources, the acting ministers for the Ministries of Culture, Energy, and Sport may be made full ministers. In addition, these sources claimed that deputy presidential chief-of-staff Oleksiy Kuleba may be named as the Minister of Regional Development instead, while the head of national fossil fuel company Naftogaz, Oleksiy Chernyshov, may be named as Minister of Infrastructure.

Zelenskyy also sacked deputy chief-of-staff Rostyslav Shurma.

On the morning of Sept. 4, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba handed in his letter of resignation to parliament.