The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has decided to dismiss Justice Minister German Galushchenko and Energy Minister Svitlana Grinchuk, as reported by Hromadske.ua.
Support for Galushchenko's dismissal was expressed by 323 deputies out of 338, while Grinchuk received support from 315 deputies out of 336. Both ministers were absent from the session.
At the meeting, Vice Prime Minister for Euro-Atlantic Integration Taras Kachka spoke instead of Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, who is participating in negotiations with the IMF. He noted that the investigation related to corruption is a sufficient basis for the dismissal of Galushchenko and Grinchuk.
Galushchenko's duties have been temporarily assigned to his deputy Lyudmyla Suhak. According to sources from RBC-Ukraine, among the candidates for the new Minister of Justice is Irina Mudra, the deputy head of the president's office. Among the contenders for the Minister of Energy position are people's deputies Andriy Gerus and Andriy Zhupanin.
The corruption situation involving Ukraine's Energoatom and businessman Timur Mindich led to the ministers being removed from their duties. On November 10, searches were conducted at Galushchenko's office as part of this investigation, and on November 12, President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that both ministers could no longer remain in their positions. The vote on their dismissal was scheduled for November 18 but was disrupted by deputies who blocked the podium, demanding "real personnel decisions." In particular, the European Solidarity faction announced its intention not to support the dismissal of Galushchenko and Grinchuk until the issue of the entire government's resignation is considered.
