The shake-up comes at a critical juncture in the war, as Ukrainian forces seized a chunk of Russia’s Kursk region in a surprise cross-border offensive last month and as Moscow continues to strike energy facilities across Ukraine, leading to rolling blackouts and sparking fears of a grim winter ahead. ...
“Fall will be extremely important for Ukraine. And our state institutions must be set up in such a way that Ukraine will achieve all the results we need,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a Tuesday evening address. “To do this, we need to strengthen some areas in the government—and personnel decisions have been prepared.” Zelensky is expected to travel to the United States this month to attend the United Nations General Assembly and has said he intends to present U.S. President Joe Biden as well as presidential candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris with a “victory plan” to win the war. .......... Ukraine has been under martial law since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, and elections, which are typically held every five years, have been postponed indefinitely. .......... “President Zelensky does not believe in institutions—he believes in people,” said one Ukrainian lawmaker who spoke on condition of anonymity to talk about the ongoing changes. “But institutions should work, and institutions should have strategy. That’s not how it’s happening in Ukraine.”
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