Ukraine’s parliament was thrown into fresh turmoil on Wednesday as opposition lawmakers blockaded the speaker’s podium, halting proceedings in an escalating push to force the dismissal of the entire cabinet and install a cross-party “unity government.”
The disruption, led by former President Petro Poroshenko’s faction and joined by Yulia Tymoshenko’s party, aimed to delay a vote on two ministers implicated in a widening corruption scandal until Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko addressed the chamber.
MPs later voted to sack Justice Minister German Galushchenko and Energy Minister-turned-successor Svetlana Grinchuk, both linked to businessman Timur Mindich, who faces charges over an alleged $100 million kickback scheme involving Energoatom.
Tymoshenko argued that Zelensky’s near-total dominance of political power had enabled systemic corruption, calling for a coalition government to stabilise the country.
Opposition parties claim they can muster the 150 signatures needed to force a full cabinet removal, potentially drawing support from within Zelensky’s own ‘Servant of the People’ bloc, where media reports suggest frustration and quiet revolt are spreading. The Mindich case has intensified internal tensions, particularly after Zelensky’s earlier attempt to curb the independence of the anti-corruption bureau — a move that angered Western donors. Some lawmakers now say they are being scapegoated, accusing the president’s team of breaking the informal pact that once kept the governing coalition unified.
It just means all the various political factions want a front-row seat at the banquet to gorge on the corpse of Ukraine and the rivers of western “aid” flowing in.