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be supported by lawmakers. Also, we see that this will be not the last attempt to decrease green rates in Ukraine.”
2.2 Ukraine gets 10 new ministers in govt reshuffle
Ukraine’s parliament voted to approve 16 cabinet ministers, 10 of them new, at its March 4 special session.
The 277 votes were mostly offered by the pro-presidential People’s Servant faction, which has numerous MPs loyal to billionaire Ihor Kolomoisky; the For the Future group of MPs, which is loyal to Kolokmoisky; and the Trust group of MPs, which was reported by the ukr.lb.ua news site to be loyal to billionaire Rinat Akhmetov and Andrii Verevskyi, the board chairman of Kernel Holding.
No votes came from the four parliamentary factions in opposition: the pro-Russian Opposition Platform For Life, the anti-IMF Fatherland party and the pro-NATO European Solidarity and Voice factions.
Among the key approvals were Denys Shmyhal as prime minister, who also drew the support of The People’s Servant faction exclusively.
Oleksiy Reznikov, currently serving as Ukraine’s representative to the political subgroup of the Trilateral Contact Group in Minsk, was appointed as the vice prime minister for the temporarily occupied territories.
Arsen Avakov, a political ally to Kolomoisky, remained as internal affairs minister.
As expected, Ihor Umanskiy was elected finance minister to replace Oksana Markarova, who favors close IMF cooperation, the launch of the farmland market and overall free market policies.
Among the biggest surprises were Vadym Prystaiko, the former foreign minister, remaining in the cabinet and switching positions with Dmytro Kuleba, the deputy prime minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration.
Former energy minister Ivan Plachkov was not among the ministers elected, despite being considered for returning to his post at the People’s Servant faction meeting on March 3.
Four cabinet positions were left unfilled: the education minister, culture minister, energy minister, and economic development minister, left vacated by Tymofiy Mylovanov. He declined an opportunity to rejuvenate the agrarian ministry, despite being among the most vocal advocates of launching the farmland market, which had been scheduled for October. “I believe in market economics and the development of institutions, equal rules of the game for all and competition, and the minimal interference of the state in the economy. Currently, a transformation process is occurring. The changes are conceptual and multilayered. That’s why now, when the general view of approaches is changing, I am ready to step aside and give a chance to the renewed team to fulfill its vision (which, quite possibly, will be more successful),” Mylovanov wrote on his Facebook page this morning.
Armaments engineer Oleh Korostyliov has yet to agree to become deputy
6 UKRAINE Country Report April 2018 www.intellinews.com
