Ukraine's parliament has dismissed the country's defence minister, Yuri Yekhanurov, by a large majority over allegations of financial mismanagement, BBC reported.
Mr Yekhanurov was seen as an ally of President Viktor Yushchenko.
The motion for his dismissal was put forward by MPs loyal to Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, a former ally turned rival of the president.
Ms Tymoshenko had accused the defence ministry of corruption, allegations which Mr Yekhanurov has denied.
"Yekhanurov is a gaping hole in Ukraine's defence capability and it must be plugged," said Oleh Lyashko, a senior member of Ms Tymoshenko's bloc.
The dismissal leaves Ukraine without foreign, defence and finance ministers.
Last month, Interior Minister Yuri Lutsenko offered to resign over an incident in which he was detained at Frankfurt airport after an altercation with police while apparently drunk. His resignation has yet to be approved by parliament.
Earlier on Friday, Mr Yushchenko vowed to prevent the prime minister and opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych from abolishing direct presidential elections, calling such plans "an unconstitutional coup".
Under the agreement, their two parties would change the constitution to allow the president to be elected by parliament. Ms Tymoshenko would allegedly remain prime minister, while Mr Yanukovych would become president, Ukrainian media reported.
"As president of Ukraine, I will not allow the next elections to be held in parliament," Mr Yushchenko told reporters.
"They are trying to redistribute [power] for the next 10 years and form a totalitarian regime," he added.
A presidential election is currently scheduled to be held in January.