FOREIGN Minister Dmytro Kuleba, one of Ukraine’s most recognisable faces on the international stage, submitted his resignation today before an expected cabinet reshuffle. 

Mr Kuleba didn’t give a reason for stepping down, and his resignation will be discussed by legislators at their next session, parliamentary Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk said on his Facebook page. 

President Volodymyr Zelensky indicated last week that a cabinet reshuffle was imminent.

During Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine, Mr Kuleba has been second only to the president in conveying Ukraine’s message and needs to an international audience, whether through social media posts or meetings with foreign dignitaries. 

In July, he became the highest-ranking Ukrainian official to visit China since Russia’s full-scale invasion started in February 2022. He has been foreign minister since March 2020.

More than half the current cabinet will undergo changes, said Davyd Arakhamiia, a leader of Mr Zelensky’s party in the Ukrainian parliament. Ministers were expected to resign today, with the new appointments being made on Thursday, he said.

Meanwhile, a Ukrainian attack on a marketplace in the Tekstilshchik district of Donetsk in the east of the country was reported to have killed at least three civilians today.

In the west, Lviv Mayor Andrii Sadovyi said that a Russian missile strike on the city had killed at least seven people and wounded 35 others.