Ukraine’s Prime Minister Submits Resignation Again

By Staff, Agencies

Ukrainian Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk submitted his resignation for a second time after reports that President Volodymyr Zelenskiy might be gearing up to sack him, the Ukrainian news outlet NV reported on Friday night.

A source told Reuters that Honcharuk was set to leave but gave no further details. Neither Honcharuk’s office nor Zelenskiy’s office responded to requests for comment. Zelenskiy has convened a special parliament meeting on Wednesday.

Replacing Honcharuk would come at a time when confidence in Zelenskiy’s government has fallen since the actor and comedian won a landslide election victory last year promising to end the war in the Donbass and tackle corruption.

Any reshuffle would come just as Ukraine is trying to secure the release of billions of dollars in loans from the International Monetary Fund, a move contingent on Kiev’s progress in passing reforms and tackling graft.

Honcharuk last week denied he had submitted his resignation or discussed his departure with Zelenskiy, but his position has been under scrutiny since the leak in January of a recording that suggested he made unflattering comments about Zelenskiy.

Zelenskiy himself acknowledged meeting Serhiy Tihipko, a businessman and veteran politician who was touted in the Ukrainian media as a potential replacement for Honcharuk.

Deputy Prime Minister Denys Shmygal could be made acting prime minister while a permanent replacement was found, NV said.

Zelenskiy has prioritized ending the war in Donbass but while he has implemented some confidence-building measures with Russia, including prisoner swaps, the conflict simmers on.

Ukrainians’ confidence in the government’s ability to tackle key issues had waned, a report by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology showed last week.

Only 25% of Ukrainians think the authorities have been successful in resolving the Donbass conflict compared to 40% in December, it said.