Ukraine’s parliament votes to dismiss infrastructure, agriculture ministers

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, on Thursday voted to dismiss the country’s Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov and Agriculture Minister Mykola Solskyi for their posts.

Kubrakov and Solskyi were dismissed during voting procedures in a session of the Verkhovna Rada, where they received 272 and 273 votes, respectively, Ukrainian lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak said on Telegram.

No lawmakers voted against Kubrakov’s dismissal, while 13 abstained and 35 were not present at the vote. Meanwhile, Solskyi’s dismissal received one vote against and 13 abstentions, with 35 not present.

In an explanatory note on the website of the Verkhovna Rada, it was expressed that the Infrastructure Ministry faced a new challenge of needing to implement a “systematic, predictable, and result-oriented” regional policy since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, particularly regarding cooperation with local bodies.

“However, the policy implemented today by the ministry in terms of regional policy is in a critical state. Considering the above, there is an urgent need to create a separate ministry that would deal with regional policy,” it said.

It added that Kubrakov needed to be dismissed from his post to implement the initiative of creating such a separate ministry.

Commenting on the draft bill submitted to the parliament, Kubrakov said on Facebook that he is ready for an open dialogue and a detailed report on the work of the ministry, further indicating that Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal did not discuss the decision of his dismissal with him.

“We have come a long way in five years of joint work. With the absolute majority, the path is in one direction. Everyone makes decisions according to their beliefs and is responsible for it,” he added.

Elsewhere, Solskyi had submitted his resignation from his post amid allegations he was involved in a scheme to take control of state land worth more than $7 million, according to Ruslan Stefanchuk, the head of the Verkhovna Rada, late last month.

Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau accused the 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, though not naming Solskyi in particular.

However, Ukrainian media reported that the minister in question was Solskyi, who 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.​​​​​​​