The Cabinet Reshuffle: Changing the Terms Doesn’t Change the Outcome

UKRAINE - In Brief 05 Sep 2024 by Dmytro Boyarchuk

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There’s a lot of noise about changes in the Cabinet. For external observers, this might look like an effort to refresh the team of Ministers. But in fact, it’s not. Some faces from the same tired deck of cards have simply moved from old positions to new ones. Others, like the Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba, who seemed too independent for Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak, have been pushed out. But the overall picture remains unchanged—the decision-making process is still fully concentrated in the President’s Office, and the names in the Cabinet don’t really make a difference. The reason for the reshuffle? We can only guess, as no explanation has been given to the public. In my view, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, being a showman, feels the need to make someone “accountable” for all the hardships Ukrainians are going through. This was likely the reason behind the dismissal of Volodymyr Kudrytskiy, the head of Ukrenergo, the national electricity transmission grid operator, amid intensified electricity cutoffs. The same applies to the changes in the Cabinet. For ordinary Ukrainians, it’s meant to signal that the President is taking action to improve the situation. But in reality, it’s just messaging. No substantive changes are expected.