What we should be asking ourselves is whether these ministers will be allowed to flee the country or not.
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It was always going to be hard to put your finger on the exact so-called ‘tipping point’ of any regime whose leader is clinging onto power with an ever decreasing cabal of cronies and military advisors. But in the case of Zelensky the news in August that a number of credit rating agencies had downgraded Ukraine to the last rating before ‘junk’ might have been the starter’s pistol.
Some will argue that replacing his armed forces chief Valeriy Zaluzhny earlier in February was also a turning point as a number of other top military aides were culled. It was certainly a milestone in Zelensky’s desperation to create some new ideas about how to make a difference on the battlefield.
But for those close to him taking their share of the money coming in, the downgrade was probably a final straw given that the new near junk rating makes it much harder for the Ukrainian government to borrow money around the world on normal interest rates.
Two critical events followed which could explain why these six ministers and advisors all were given their marching orders en masse on September 4th:
Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba Minister of Justice Denis Maliuska; Minister for Strategic Industries Alexander Kamyshin Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Ruslan Strelets Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olga Stefanishyna Deputy Prime Minister – Minister for Reintegration of Uncontrolled Territories of Ukraine Iryna Vereshchuk Deputy head of Zelensky’s office Rostislav Shurma.
Firstly, the Kursk operation has failed in its overall objective and Ukrainian forces have faced heavy casualties as Russia, which took its time to respond, finally pounded them both on the ground and from the air. For these ministers, we have to assume that they were not behind the bold plan but had to go along with it regardless. Secondly, the reality of Donald Trump becoming president as Kamala Harris looks increasingly stupid and vacuous as a contender.
What we should be asking ourselves is whether these ministers will be allowed to flee the country or not. Or indeed whether Zelensky himself will charge them with some kind of hilarious treason charge later on when the media spotlight is no longer on them. The effect of their “resignation” (according to Jackson Hinkle on X) will certainly affect him politically as the pressure on him to accept the inevitable is mounting.
The main problem that he will have now is that he will increasingly be seen as the root of the problem towards negotiating any peace deal which will not only lead to his downfall but will make NATO look increasingly ineffective as a so-called defence organisation. Following Kursk it is clear now that Putin will not consider any negotiations. Zelensky stepped over a line and so all bets are off.
“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.
Yet not all of them, at the time of writing, had actually left their offices as it is the parliament which signs off who can resign.
Lawmakers said that parliament was expected to consider Kuleba’s resignation on September 10th.
According to Reuters, “after Zelenskiy, 43-year-old Kuleba was the best-known face of Ukraine overseas, meeting leaders around the world and lobbying for military and political support in fluent English”.
The move smacks of a new level of desperation, pointed out by Zelensky’s critics on social media. “Just like rats deserting a sinking ship. They now all realize that Ukraine is finished so they will collect whatever money they stashed away and run. The ordinary Ukrainian people will sort out the cocaine sniffer” commented one on X.
