Politico published new details about the reasons for the resignation of Dmytro Kuleba from the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, revealing information that indicates strained relations between Kuleba and the leadership of the Office of the President. The publication's sources claim that Kuleba's resignation was partly caused by conflicts with Yermak, as well as his established direct connections with high-ranking US officials.
A former high-ranking Ukrainian official stated anonymously that the ex-MFA head had a conflict with Yermak, which he once observed personally. He says that Kuleba, thanks to his position, had direct contacts with Blinken and other leading politicians around the world, and this strained the OP.
"Even if he was 300 percent loyal, the president's office couldn't leave that line of communication in the hands of someone they're not entirely sure is their person, if you know what I mean," the source said. .
The publication notes that Yermak and Umerov, who remain in their positions and recently traveled to Washington, are communicating with the White House in OP.
Officials and advisers to Zelenskyi also told Politico that over the past year, Kuleba "has done little to promote Kyiv's relations with Washington" and receive military aid, but instead "promoted his new book."
In the headline of the Politico article, it is written that Zelensky "is facing a huge backlash" due to the reshuffle in the Cabinet of Ministers, which "causes accusations of a power grab."
"Leading opposition figures accuse Zelensky of increasingly appointing people from a narrow circle of close allies and supporters to government positions in an attempt to consolidate power around his cabinet," the publication states and cites this assessment from a deputy of Poroshenko's Eurosolidarity party.
"Servant of the people" Merezhko denies that only people close to power receive positions, and cites the example of Umerov, a native of the "Voice" party.
An official of the White House said anonymously about the reshuffle in the Ukrainian government that "there may be reasons for concern."
