Ukrainian foreign minister resigns ahead of expected reshuffling of government leaders

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, one of Ukraine's most recognizable faces on the international stage, resigned Wednesday ahead of an expected reshuffling of government leaders. Russian strikes, meanwhile, killed seven people in a western city, a day after one of the deadliest missile attacks since the war began.

Kuleba, 43, gave no reason for stepping down. Four other Cabinet ministers tendered their resignations late Tuesday, likely making this reshuffle the biggest since Russia's invasion in February 2022.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy indicated last week that the reshuffling was imminent, with the war poised to enter a critical stage and to mark its 1,000th day in November.

He said Wednesday that Ukraine needs “new energy, and that includes in diplomacy.” He said during a Kyiv news conference with visiting Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris that he could not announce any replacements yet because he did not know whether the candidates would accept his invitation to join the government.

Zelenskyy needs to keep up Ukraine’s morale amid the grinding war of attrition with its bigger neighbor and to steel the country’s resolve for what will be another hard winter. Russia has been smashing Ukraine’s power grid, knocking out some 70% of generation capacity and rupturing heat and water supplies.

Wednesday's deadly attack on Lviv — a city near the border with NATO member Poland and far from the front lines — underscored how all of Ukraine is at the mercy of Moscow’s long-range capabilities.

The Ukrainian army’s risky incursion almost a month ago into Russia’s Kursk border region raised Ukrainian spirits and countered months of grim news from the front line in eastern Ukraine. The incursion's ultimate goals are unclear, though Zelenskyy says Ukraine wants to create a buffer zone there that would prevent cross-border Russian attacks.

Russian President Vladimir Putin remains bent on pushing his army deeper into eastern Ukraine. The Kremlin's onslaught in Donetsk, where Ukraine is short of troops and air defenses, and long-range missile strikes that repeatedly hit civilian areas of Ukraine, signal that Putin will remain uncompromising and unrelenting in his efforts to crush Ukrainian resistance.

The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington think tank, said late Tuesday that Putin believes Russia “can slowly and indefinitely subsume Ukraine through grinding advances" and "by outlasting Western support” for Kyiv.

Zelenskyy is also keeping in mind the U.S. presidential election in November, which could bring a shift in key U.S. military support for his country.

During the war, Kuleba has been second only to Zelenskyy in carrying Ukraine’s message and needs to an international audience, whether through social media posts or meetings with foreign dignitaries. In July, Kuleba became the highest-ranking Ukrainian official to visit China since Russia’s invasion. He has been foreign minister since March 2020.

Kuleba’s successor is not yet known but is expected to be announced Thursday. Several Ukrainian media outlets, citing unnamed sources, said Kuleba's deputy, Andrii Sybiha, would become the country's chief diplomat.

The new foreign minister will likely accompany Zelenskyy next week to the U.N. General Assembly in New York, which is an opportunity to lobby global leaders for their support.

Kuleba's resignation will be discussed by lawmakers at their next session, parliamentary Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk said on his Facebook page.

More than half the current Cabinet will undergo changes, said Davyd Arakhamiia, a leader of Zelenskyy’s party in the parliament. Ministers will resign Wednesday, and new appointments will be made Thursday, he said.

Zelenskyy’s five-year mandate expired in May. He remains in power under the provisions of martial law.

Elsewhere, the nighttime strike on Lviv wounded 52 people as well as killing seven, Ukraine's rescue service said. The strike was carried out with a Kinzhal missile and drones and targeted defense industry enterprises, Russian news agency Tass said, citing the Russian Defense Ministry.

Local officials disputed the targeting claim. Lviv Mayor Andrii Sadovyi and the Ukrainian Catholic University published a photo of a family whose mother and three daughters were killed in the attack that struck their home. The father survived but was in critical condition, Sadovyi said.

The eldest daughter, 21-year-old Yaryna, was a program manager at the European Youth Forum, a platform of the continent’s youth organizations, her colleagues wrote on Facebook. “We will neither forget nor forgive” the attack, they said in the post.

Another Russian attack wounded five people in Kryvyi Rih, Zelenskyy’s hometown, regional head Serhii Lysak said.

Kuleba said the Lviv and Kryvyi Rih attacks showed Ukraine's need for more Western support.

“To put an end to this terror, Ukraine’s partners must promptly deliver the promised air defense systems and ammunition, as well as strengthen Ukraine’s defense capabilities and allow us to launch long-range strikes on all legitimate military targets in Russia,” he wrote on X.

Zelenskyy reacted to the attacks by urging Ukraine's allies to give Kyiv “more range” to use Western weapons to strike deeper into Russian territory.

The attack happened a day after two ballistic missiles blasted a military academy and nearby hospital in Poltava in eastern-central Ukraine, killing 53 people and wounding almost 300 others, Ukrainian officials said.

The missiles tore into the heart of the Poltava Military Institute of Communication’s main building, causing several stories to collapse.

Poltava is about 350 kilometers (200 miles) southeast of Kyiv, on the main highway and rail route between Kyiv and Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, which is close to the Russian border.

In other developments, the head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog agency, Rafael Grossi, visited the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southern Ukraine, a day after describing the situation at Europe’s largest atomic energy facility as “very fragile.”

The International Atomic Energy Agency published a report Wednesday saying that since Grossi’s last visit there in February, the plant has been struck by drones, lost power lines and seen “significant damage” to one of its two cooling towers by fire.

Burrows reported from London.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

In this photo provided by the Lviv City Council, a car burns near a residential building damaged by a Russian strike in Lviv, Ukraine, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024.. (Lviv City Council via AP)

In this photo provided by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine on September 4, 2024, Rescuers work at a site of military university hit by a Russian strike in Poltava, Ukraine. (State Emergency Service of Ukraine via AP)

In this photo provided by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine on September 4, 2024, Rescue workers work at a site of military university hit by a Russian strike in Poltava, Ukraine. (State Emergency Service of Ukraine via AP)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, talks during his joint press conference with Irish Prime Minister Taoiseach Simon Harris in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

A man helps to a wounded man near an apartment building destroyed by Russian missile attack in centre Lviv, Western Ukraine, Wednesday Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Mykola Tys)

Rescuers carry a body after Russian missile attack in centre Lviv, Western Ukraine, Wednesday Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Mykola Tys)

Rescuers search for victims in an apartment building destroyed by Russian missile attack in centre Lviv, Western Ukraine, Wednesday Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Mykola Tys)

In this photo provided by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, smoke rises from a building which was destroyed by a Russian strike in Lviv, Ukraine, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024.. (State Emergency Service of Ukraine via AP)

In this photo provided by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine on September 4, 2024, a rescue worker extinguishes a car destroyed by a Russian strike in Lviv, Ukraine. (State Emergency Service of Ukraine via AP)

In this photo provided by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, a rescue worker tries to extinguish a fire of a burning building destroyed by a Russian strike in Lviv, Ukraine, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (State Emergency Service of Ukraine via AP)

In this photo provided by the Lviv City Council, firefighters work near a residential building damaged by a Russian strike in Lviv, Ukraine, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (Lviv City Council via AP)

In this photo provided by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, smoke rises from a building which was destroyed by a Russian strike in Lviv, Ukraine, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (State Emergency Service of Ukraine via AP)

FILE - Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba speaks with the media as he arrives for a meeting of EU foreign ministers at the European Council building in Brussels, Aug. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, File)

FILE - Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba speaks during joint press conference with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock in Kyiv, Ukraine, May 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File)

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Votes were being counted Tuesday in the recent election for a largely powerless local government in Indian-controlled Kashmir, the first since Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government stripped the disputed region of its special status five years ago.

Thousands of additional police and paramilitary soldiers patrolled roads and guarded 28 counting centers as officials tallied votes. A final result was expected to be declared later Tuesday by the region’s electoral office.

Nearly 8.9 million people were eligible to vote in the election, which began on Sept. 18 and concluded on Oct. 1. The overall turnout was 64% across the three phases, according to official data.

It was the first such vote in a decade and the first since Modi’s Hindu nationalist government scrapped the Muslim-majority region’s long-held semi-autonomy in 2019.

The unprecedented move downgraded and divided the former state into two centrally governed union territories, Ladakh and Jammu-Kashmir. Both are ruled directly by New Delhi through its appointed administrators along with unelected bureaucrats and security setup. The move — which largely resonated in India and among Modi supporters — was mostly opposed in Kashmir as an assault on its identity and autonomy amid fears that it would pave the way for demographic changes in the region.

The region has since been on edge with civil liberties curbed and media gagged.

India and Pakistan each administer a part of Kashmir, but both claim the territory in its entirety. The nuclear-armed rivals have fought two of their three wars over the territory since they gained independence from British colonial rule in 1947.

Early results indicated that the regional National Conference party was poised to win the most seats followed by Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, as exit polls by major television channels the last two days had projected. Such a mandate is likely to be seen as a referendum against Modi's 2019 move.

The National Conference fought the election in alliance with India’s main opposition Congress party.

Their coalition may still need support to form the government. That is likely to come from the Peoples Democratic Party, another Kashmiri group. Five seats are appointed and 90 elected, so a party or coalition would need at least 48 of the 95 total seats to form a government.

Meanwhile, Modi’s BJP is locked in a tough contest with the Congress party in the northern state of Haryana, bordering New Delhi, which it has ruled for 10 years.

The BJP was leading in 48 constituencies in the 90-member state legislature, according to the Election Commission of India. It appeared to be heading for a third-straight term in the state. The Congress party was leading in 37 constituencies and the results are expected later Tuesday.

The voting trend in Haryana state is a surprise since most exit polls had predicted an easy victory for the Congress party.

The vote will allow Kashmir to have its own truncated government and a regional legislature, called an assembly, rather than being directly under New Delhi’s rule.

However, there will be a limited transition of power from New Delhi to the assembly as Kashmir will remain a “union territory” — directly controlled by the federal government — with India’s Parliament as its main legislator. Kashmir’s statehood must be restored for the new government to have powers similar to other states of India.

The region’s last assembly election was held in 2014, after which the BJP for the first time ruled in a coalition with the local Peoples Democratic Party. But the government collapsed in 2018, after the BJP withdrew from the coalition.

Polls in the past have been marked with violence, boycotts and vote-rigging, even though India called them a victory over separatism.

Militants in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir have been fighting New Delhi’s rule since 1989. Many Muslim Kashmiris support the rebels’ goal of uniting the territory, either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.

India insists the Kashmir militancy is Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. Pakistan denies the charge, and many Kashmiris consider it a legitimate freedom struggle. Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and government forces have been killed in the conflict.

This version has corrected that there are 95 seats, 90 of them elected and five appointed, and 48 would be a majority.

Follow AP's Asia-Pacific coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/asia-pacific

Election officers count votes for the recent election at a counting center in Jammu, India, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)

Election officers count votes for the recent election at a counting center in Jammu, India, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)

Electoral counting officials count postal ballots at a counting centre for the assembly election in Jammu, India, Tuesday, Oct. 8,2024. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)

Election officers count votes for the recent election at a counting center in Jammu, India, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)

Election officers count votes for the recent election at a counting center in Jammu, India, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)

Election officials carry electronic voting machines at a counting center for the recent election in Jammu, in Jammu, India, Tuesday, Oct. 8,2024. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)

A polling official displays a sealed electronic voting machine to polling agents as they count the votes in the recent election for a local government in Indian-controlled Kashmir on the outskirts of Srinagar, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

A political party representative watches as polling officials count the votes in the recent election for a local government in Indian-controlled Kashmir on the outskirts of Srinagar, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

Political party representatives watch as polling officials count the votes in the recent election for a local government in Indian-controlled Kashmir on the outskirts of Srinagar, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

Political party representatives watch as polling officials count the votes in the recent election for a local government in Indian-controlled Kashmir on the outskirts of Srinagar, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

Supporters of Indian National Congress and National Conference party celebrate early leads in election outside a counting center on the outskirts of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

Supporters of Indian National Congress and National Conference party shout slogans as they celebrate early leads in election outside the counting center on the outskirts of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

Political party representatives watch as polling officials count the votes in the recent election for a local government in Indian-controlled Kashmir on the outskirts of Srinagar, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

Election officers count votes for the recent election at a counting center in Jammu, India, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)

People queue up to cast their vote at a polling booth during the final phase of an election to choose a local government in Indian-controlled Kashmir, in Jammu, India, Tuesday, Oct.1, 2024. (AP Photos/Channi Anand)

An Indian paramilitary soldier guards outside a vote counting center the recent election on the outskirts of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

An Indian paramilitary soldier guards outside a vote counting center the recent election on the outskirts of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, Oct.8, 2024. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

Indian police guard outside a vote counting center for the recent election on the outskirts of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

Media persons wait outside a vote counting center the recent election on the outskirts of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

People queue up to cast their vote at a polling booth during the third phase of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly election in Jammu, India, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photos/Channi Anand)

Kashmiri women queue up at a polling booth to cast their vote during the final phase of an election to choose a local government in Indian-controlled Kashmir, north of Srinagar, Tuesday, Oct.1, 2024. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

Paramilitary soldiers guard as people queue up to cast their vote at a polling booth during the final phase of an election to choose a local government in Indian-controlled Kashmir, in Jammu, India, Tuesday, Oct.1, 2024. (AP Photos/Channi Anand)