Andrii Sibiga, new Ukrainian Foreign Minister

Ukraine's parliament on Thursday approved the appointment of Andrii Sibiga as Foreign Minister, replacing the resigned Dmitro Kuleba, as part of Ukraine's biggest government reshuffle since the Russian invasion in February 2022. 

‘First appointment: Andrii Sibiga as Ukraine's Foreign Minister,’ announced MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak. 

Sibiga, 49, was Kuleba's deputy and former head of the presidential administration. 

Less well known and less media-friendly than the outgoing minister, Sibiga is considered a heavyweight in Ukrainian diplomacy, and was ambassador to Turkey from 2016 to 2021. 

He is considered closer to President Volodimir Zelenski's chief of staff, Andrii Yermak, than his predecessor. 

Kuleba did not attend the parliamentary vote in which 240 deputies accepted his resignation, Zhelezniak said. 

According to sources consulted by AFP, his departure was not voluntary but dictated by the presidency, which wants to consolidate its control over a key portfolio. 

Five other ministers and deputy prime ministers, as well as the head of the state property fund in charge of privatisations, also resigned from parliament. 

The reshuffle comes at a tense time for Ukraine, which is struggling to stem the advance of Russian forces in the east of the country and with part of its army focused on an offensive in Russia's Kursk region. 

On Wednesday, President Volodymyr Zelensky said of the ongoing ministerial reshuffle that Ukraine needs ‘new energy’.