Ukraine Prime Minister resigns two months after audiotape leak

Ukraine’s Prime Minister Oleksiy Goncharuk has resigned after serving for six months and would be soon replaced by one of his deputies, international media reported citing members of Parliament. Goncharuk previously offered his resignation in January after a leaked recording of him questioning the Ukrainian president’s understanding of economy surfaced. However, at that time, Volodymyr Zelensky had refused to accept his resignation. 

Parliamentary vote on March 4

According to media reports, members of the Ukrainian government were not certain that Goncharuk would step down. However, members of Zelensky’s party said his departure was announced during a meeting with the president and that a parliamentary vote to approve it would be held on March 4. 

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Zelelnsky planned to replace his Prime Minister because he was unhappy with the government’s performance on economic issues, international media reported last week. Meanwhile, Goncharuk denied that he offered his resignation on March 2 but admitted that “consultations on the subject” had taken place with the president. In a meeting on March 3, Zelelnsky informed his party members about the Goncharuk’s resignation. 

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Parliamentary deputy, Ievgenia Kravtchuk reportedly said that Denys Chmygal, one of the vice-premiers, would replace Goncharuk, taking up the reins of government. Meanwhile, a few others parliamentarians said that the foreign, finance and defence ministers are also expected to be replaced, international media reported. 

In January, Zekensky gave the Prime Minister a second chance. According to reports, Zelelnsky said that the situation was unpleasant but asked the current Prime Minister and his cabinet to carry on with their duties.The President stated that he had decided on giving Honcharuk and his government “a second chance” if they manage to solve important issues that cause the public to worry. He further said that it wasn’t a moment when the country could afford economic and political destabilisation. 

Furthermore, the actor turned politician instructed the PM to look into the multimillion-dollar bonuses given to executives of the state-controlled gas company and the high salaries of the cabinet ministers which had created an outrage in the public. He then asked the PM to submit his findings before February 4. 

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