Ukraine’s agriculture minister submits resignation amid corruption allegations

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Ukraine’s agriculture minister submitted his resignation amid allegations he was involved in a scheme to take control of state land worth more than $7 million, the head of parliament said Thursday.

“The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (Parliament) received a statement from Mykola Solskyi about his resignation from the post of Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine,” Ruslan Stefanchuk said on Facebook.

He noted that Solskyi’s resignation will be considered at one of the next plenary sessions of the Parliament.

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) on Tuesday accused a minister of being involved in an illegal acquisition of state-owned land worth more than $7 million and in another plot to seize over $4 million in land.

While NABU did not name Solskyi in its statement, Ukrainian media reported the minister in question is Solskyi.

Solskyi later commented on the allegations and said the events in question date to the period when he was a lawyer, not a government official.

Since January 2023, several Ukrainian officials have been dismissed or resigned as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy launched a broad anti-corruption campaign.

A crackdown on corruption is critical if Ukraine hopes to advance its application to join the 27-member EU, which decided to open accession talks with Kyiv in December last year.

Critics have said Ukraine has long suffered from widespread corruption, but Russia's “special military operation” is said to have overshadowed the government's efforts to stamp out graft.​​​​​​​