Ukrainian Prime Minister Alexei Goncharuk surprisingly announced his resignation. An embarrassing video had previously appeared.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Alexei Goncharuk has resigned after controversial statements about President Volodymyr Selenskyj. The head of state has the right to a loyal team, Goncharuk wrote on Facebook. “In order to dispel any doubts about my appreciation and trust in the President, I wrote a resignation letter and handed it over to the President,” the head of government has now said.
A video recording had previously been published in which the 35-year-old had said unfavorably about Selenskyj. He had said that the president had a “very primitive” idea of the economy and “fog in the head”. With the unveiling of the audio recordings, “the impression was given that my team and I did not respect the president,” wrote Goncharuk. “It is not true,” he emphasized. He had come into his office “to implement the President’s program”. Much had been achieved under Selenskyj. “For me, it is an example of openness and transparency,” said Goncharuk.
Parliament must confirm resignation
Selenskyj’s office said that the letter of resignation was being examined. The President still has to submit the request to Parliament for a vote. However, it is uncertain whether the resignation will find the required majority of 226 votes. Goncharuk has been head of government since late August 2019.
On Wednesday, secret recordings of a consultation of government members and the central bank management on the economic situation were published. Goncharuk had admitted to being a total layperson in economic matters. Subsequently, servants of the people who are close to the oligarch Igor Kolomoiski, demanded resignation of Goncharuk from individual deputies of the ruling party.
Goncharuk has been prime minister since August 2018
The 35-year-old lawyer took office in August last year. A few months earlier, Selenskyj had been elected president. Goncharuk announced at his appointment that he wanted to fight corruption and poverty in Ukraine.
On Thursday, the lawyer and administrative scientist said in a video message that everything was fine and that resignation was out of the question.
Note: In an earlier version of this article, we wrongly referred to the head of government as Hrojsman. We apologize for any inconvenience.
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