In Ukraine Parliament approved the appointment of Andriy Sybiha a foreign Minister, in place of Dmytro kuleba, as part of the biggest cabinet reshuffle since the Russian invasion. “First appointment: Andriy Sybiha as Ukraine's foreign minister,” said MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak, adding that in 258 voted in favor. According to Ukrainian media, President Volodymyr Zelensky – expected in Cernobbio over the weekend or maybe already tomorrow for the opening ceremony – would have given Sybiha a mission very specific dedicated to finding weapons and ammunition for fight Russia.
Sybiha, who is the new Ukrainian Foreign Minister
Forty-nine years old, married with three children, Andriy Sybiha has just been confirmed as Foreign Minister by the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian parliament. He replaces Dmytro Kuleba, who he resigned yesterday as part of a government reshuffle, the largest since the outbreak of war in 2022, involving several ministries.
Sybiha, we read on the official page of the Ukrainian government, was born in Zboriv, a small town in the Ternopil oblast, in the west of the country. A graduate of the University of Lviv, fluent in English and Polish, the new Foreign Minister he spent his entire diplomatic career. From 1998 to 2002 he was second and then first secretary at the embassy in Poland. He then worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Directorate General for European Integration and the Directorate for International Legal Affairs.
From 2008 to 2012 he was Minister Plenipotentiary at the Embassy in Poland and for the following four years he was the head of the General Directorate for Consular Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 2016 Sybiha was appointed Ukrainian Ambassador to Türkiye. In 2021, he became Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, and finally in 2024 he was appointed First Deputy Foreign Minister.
The analysis: more than a reshuffle, a “rotation”
More than a reshuffle, what is underway in Ukraine is a "rotation" of government officials, "highly prepared" and the result of a long internal debate.Zelensky administration and with Western partners. It is the analysis of Mikhail Minakov, senior advisor on Ukraine at the Kennan Institute of the Wilson Center who in an interview withAgi calls for "not seeing any intrigue" behind the resignation of two deputy prime ministers and five ministers, including Foreign Minister Kuleba. "Preparation for this rotation began in February-March," Minakov notes, "there was initially talk of a radical move with a change of the entire government including the prime minister." "The internal debate within the Ukrainian administration and discussions with Western partners" led to the decision to "leave the Prime Minister, Denis Shmyhal, and proceed only with cosmetic changes,” the analyst argues.
Proof that this rotation is a well-prepared move is the departure of Dmytro Kuleba from the Foreign Ministry and the arrival of his deputy in his place. “Sybiha, who worked in the Office of the President,” explains the analyst, “was appointed to the Foreign Ministry six months ago precisely to prepare this soft transition and to give continuity to foreign policy.” “His appointment as Kuleba's successor,” he continues, “indicates that diplomacy will play an increasingly diminishing role in conflict resolution“. For Minakov, Kuleba will remain in the government in a new role, but he had been in the role of Foreign Minister for over four years, “an unusual time”.
Ukrainian Media: What Mission Did Zelensky Give to Sybiha?
However, according to Ukrainian media, in the last few hours the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky – in several closed-door meetings – attributed Kuleba's change in particular to the difficulties Kiev has encountered in the last period inacquisition of weapons and ammunition. This, presumably, will be the main mission of the new minister. In this regard, Zelensky will participate in the meeting of the Contact Group for the Defense of Ukraine in the format RamsteinThe meeting will be held in Germany and will see the Defense Ministers of the countries supporting Ukraine gather together. This was reported by Spiegel. The President of Ukraine, sources still claim, Spiegel, wants to do appeal to western partners with the request for further supplies of weapons to fight Russia. In particular, the provision of long-range missiles and more air defense systems.
Zelensky in Cernobbio
Zelensky is expected at the weekend Cernobbio for the traditional Ambrosetti Forum: according to press leaks, it is not excluded that the Ukrainian president could arrive in Italy as early as tomorrow, on the occasion of the opening ceremony with the first day focused, as usual, on global scenarioIt is worth remembering that the Hungarian Prime Minister is also expected tomorrow. Viktor Orbán. The Prime Minister also attended the forum Giorgia Meloni and eleven government ministers.
Ft: Russia's moves and India's role
According to the Financial Times la Russia is secretly building a secret trade channel with theIndia, using i billions of rupees from oil sales to buy sensitive electronic equipment for use in the war effort against Ukraine. In more detail, the Ministry of Industry and Trade in Moscow, which oversees defense production, developed a plan in October 2022 reserved plan to spend about 82 billion rupees to protect essential electronic devices through hidden channels to Western governments. According to the plan, Russian security services aimed to use “significant reserves” of rupees accumulated by banks through oil sales to India. In practice, Moscow saw India as an alternative market for essential goods “previously supplied by now hostile countries”.
