Arsen Avakov resigns as Ukraine's interior minister
A look back at the departure of a minister who had held the post since 2014, and at regional events in the days before.
Who was leaving the Ukrainian government on 13 July 2021? The answer was Arsen Avakov, the interior minister, who resigned that day. He had worked in the post since 2014.
The resignation ended a tenure at the head of the Interior Ministry that had lasted seven years.
The regional backdrop
In the days before, neighbouring countries dealt with their own pressures. On 9 July 2021, Lithuania began building a $48 million fence along its border with Belarus. A week earlier, Lithuania had declared a state of emergency over a rise in undocumented migrants, mostly Syrians, crossing from Belarus. Vilnius accused Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of deliberately trying to destabilise the country by encouraging and allowing the crossings.
On 10 July 2021, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki announced that the United States had donated 500,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to Moldova. Moldovan President Maia Sandu praised the United States for the deployment.
