News Wrap: Zelenskyy overhauls his Cabinet as war drags on

In our news wrap Wednesday, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy accepted the resignations of several ministers in a significant overhaul of his Cabinet, Israel’s operation in the occupied West Bank shows no signs of letting up after more than a week of deadly raids and an investigation into the 2017 Grenfell Tower disaster in London found that the tragedy was avoidable.

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Geoff Bennett: And we start the day’s other headlines in Ukraine, where President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accepted the resignation of his foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba.

Kuleba gave no reason for stepping down. His announcement comes as four other ministers also submitted resignations. It’s set to be among the most significant overhauls of Zelenskyy’s cabinet since the war began.

Zelenskyy, who is in Ireland today, said it was time for a change as the war against Russia drags on.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian President (through interpreter): I am very grateful to the ministers and the entire cabinet team who worked for Ukraine for the sake of Ukrainians. Today, we need new energy, and these steps are connected. They are only connected with strengthening our state in various areas. International politics and diplomacy are no exception.

Geoff Bennett: Meantime, Russian strikes killed at least seven people and injured more than 50 others in the Western Ukrainian city of Lviv near the Polish border.

The long-range Russian strikes come just a day after one of the deadliest attacks of the war, a missile attack on a Ukrainian military academy that killed more than 50 people.

In the Middle East, Israel’s operation in the occupied West Bank shows no sign of letting up after more than a week of deadly raids. IDF bulldozers pushed through the streets of Tulkarm today. Palestinian officials say 33 people have been killed so far. Israel says most of them were militants.

The Jenin area has seen the most fatalities, including a 16-year-old girl who was laid to rest today. Her father says she was shot by Israeli forces yesterday when she opened a window curtain during a raid. Israel says it’s looking into the incident.

Osama Musleh, Daughter Killed in West Bank Raid (through interpreter): All the neighbors are witnesses. She didn’t go to the roof. She didn’t hurl a stone, and she wasn’t carrying a weapon. She is 16 years old. The only thing she did is, she looked from a window and the soldiers shot her in the forehead.

Geoff Bennett: Meantime, in Gaza, the U.N.’s children’s agency says a polio vaccination campaign has now reached some 189,000 children. UNICEF called the program a rare bright spot in the ongoing war and says it hopes to expand the campaign to harder-hit areas.

In the U.K., an investigation into the 2017 Grenfell Tower disaster found that the tragedy was avoidable. In its final report released today, the inquiry found that mistakes from the government, the construction industry and firefighters were to blame. The independent investigation started soon after 72 people were killed when a fire broke out at the apartment block in West London during the early hours of June 14, 2017.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said his government is sorry for the loss of life and vowed to act on the report’s findings.

Keir Starmer, British Prime Minister: I want to start with an apology on behalf of the British state to each and every one of you and indeed to all of the families affected by this tragedy. It should never have happened.

Geoff Bennett: The report clears the way for law enforcement authorities to finish their criminal investigation of the disaster. The effort had been put on hold to avoid any conflict with the independent inquiry. Prosecutors are not expected to announce any charges until the end of 2026.

A global human rights watchdog has implicated Venezuela’s security forces in the deadly crackdown on protests following the country’s disputed election in July. In findings released today, Human Rights Watch outlined evidence that linked the country’s National Guard and police to some of the 24 killings that took place as people protested the outcome of the vote.

President Nicolas Maduro said the protests were an attempted coup. And in an effort to distract from anger over the election, Maduro declared on national TV today that Christmas is quite literally coming early.

Nicolas Maduro, Venezuelan President (through interpreter): September is coming, and I said it smells like Christmas. That’s why, this year, in homage to you and gratitude to you, I’m going to decree. Christmas starts on October 1 for everyone. Christmas is here with peace, happiness, and security.

Geoff Bennett: Separately, the Pentagon said today that a U.S. Navy sailor has been detained in Venezuela after traveling there on personal business. Officials say the visit was not authorized. The Navy says it’s working with the State Department to monitor the situation.

In Northeastern Nigeria, locals there say at least 100 villagers were killed when suspected Boko Haram militants rampaged through their area on motorcycles. While the death toll is in dispute, local police say more than 50 extremists opened fire on a market in people’s homes on Sunday night before setting buildings on fire. The radical Islamic group has killed thousands of Nigerians since launching an insurgency in 2009 that has also displaced more than two million people.

On Wall Street today, stocks struggled to find their footing. The Dow Jones industrial average added just 38 points, so mostly unchanged. The Nasdaq dropped more than 50 points, slipping back towards that 17000-point level. The S&P 500 also ended a bit lower on the day.

And there were more victories for Team USA at the Paralympic Games in Paris today. Oksana Masters won her eighth Paralympic gold by speeding to victory in the women’s para cycling time trial. In track and field, shot putter Noelle Malkamaki broke her previous world record with a throw distance of just over 14 meters, easily clearing her path to gold.

And the U.S. women’s wheelchair basketball team won a close game against Great Britain, propelling them to the semifinals.