Wave of resignations at the top of the Ukrainian government.
Deputy head of Ukraine's presidential office
Kyrylo Tymoshenko
,
four deputy ministers and five regional governors were ousted from their posts in Ukraine following an alleged corruption scandal in the army,
as the 11th month since the invasion came today of Russia.
These are the Deputy Ministers for Community and Territorial Development
Ivan Lukeryu and Vyacheslav Negoda
;
Deputy Minister of Social Policy
Vitaly Muzychenka
, Deputy Defense Minister
Vyacheslav Shapovalov.
According to the representative of the government in Parliament, Taras Melnychuk, the governors of the central Dnipropetrovsk region
Valentin Reznichenko have left their posts
, from the southern region of Zaporizhia Oleksandr Starukh, from the northern region of Soumy Dmytro Zhivytsky, from the southern region of Kherson Yaroslav Yanushevich and from the capital Kiev Oleksiy Kuluba.
In November, Reznichenko was accused in several media outlets of awarding tens of millions of euros worth of road repair contracts to a group co-founded by his girlfriend, who works as a fitness instructor.
According to press reports, he and his colleagues from the Soumy, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions are under judicial investigation, while Kouleba's resignation is linked to his forthcoming appointment to the presidential administration.
Anatoly Ivankevich and Viktor Vychniov, both deputy heads of the Ukrainian Sea and River Transport Service, also resigned.
Muzychenko's resignation was formalized at a cabinet meeting this morning. Cabinet secretary Oleg Nemchinov confirmed the news, adding that Oleksiy Sobolev has been appointed deputy economy minister.
An official note from the Defense informs that Shapovalov, who is the object of suspicions and accusations of corruption, has asked to leave his post in order not to "create threats to the Armed Forces following the accusations about the purchase of catering services".
"Despite the fact that the announced allegations are groundless, the resignation is a worthy act in the traditions of European and democratic politics, demonstrating that the interests of Defense are superior to any cabinet or presidency," the ministry's website reads.
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For his part, Tymoshenko said today explaining that he had asked President Volodymyr Zelensky to relieve him of his duties.
A decree accepting his resignation was published on the presidential website.
Zelensky said yesterday that some changes will be announced this week in the government, regions and security forces after allegations of corruption against some politicians.
“I thank the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky for the trust and the opportunity to do good deeds every day and every minute,” Tymoshenko wrote on Telegram.
As for Lukerya, he only announced his resignation on Facebook.
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As for
Negoda
, in a message posted on social media he wrote: "Dear friends! Every important company has its marathon and its team, its beginning and its end. Today I want to thank all those with whom we have overcome the obstacles to change/improve life in communities and strengthen the country. It was difficult, but we broke the mould, convinced because we believed in success. This is not the time and place to make recriminations".
Ukraine who resigned.
According to Ukrainska Pravda,
in a meeting to be held today, Zelensky's government will consider the dismissal of the heads of five regional state administrations
: Dnepropetrovsk (Valentin Reznichenko), Zaporozhye (Alexander Starukh), Kiev (Aleksey Kuleba), Sumy (Dmitry Zhyvitsky) and Kherson (Yaroslav Yanushevich).
According to Ukrainian media, Reznichenko has already asked for his resignation.
The flurry of resignations comes after media revelations of allegedly inflated supply purchases.
Tymoshenko's name has been embroiled in several scandals related to her alleged personal use of luxury cars, though the executive has denied the allegations.
And from
Brussels
, a spokesman for the EU Commission said that "we have noticed the resignations in progress among the ranks of the Ukrainian government, we are not commenting on the ongoing investigations but
we can say that we are satisfied that the Ukrainian authorities are taking this situation seriously".
"Ukraine must strengthen the fight against corruption, especially at high levels, and this is part of the accession process: the EU with its partners has been supporting Ukraine to strengthen the rule of law for years", added the spokesman, according to which.
"The EU has several layers of scrutiny to make sure its funds go where they need to go."
For her part,
the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, commented that "a new division of the cake" had begun in Ukraine.
Of this cake, she added, there is only one piece left, but "these insatiable vampires keep dividing it up."