On 19 November, the Verkhovna Rada dismissed Minister of Justice Herman Halushchenko. According to the broadcast of the session, 323 MPs voted in favour of the dismissal. Of these, 200 were from Servant of the People, 21 from European Solidarity, 17 from Batkivshchyna, 16 from Platform for Life and Peace, 14 from Holos, 11 each from Restoration of Ukraine and For the Future, and the rest were non-affiliated.
The vote on his dismissal was scheduled for yesterday, but did not take place due to the blocking of the podium by MPs from European Solidarity. They said they were demanding the dismissal of the entire government, not just Halushchenko and Energy Minister Svitlana Grynychuk.
The blockade continued today. Deputies summoned Halushchenko, Energy Minister Svitlana Grynychuk (who is also currently facing dismissal) and Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko to appear at 13:00. None of them appeared. Svyrydenko said she was at a meeting with the IMF mission, so the draft resolution would be presented by Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Taras Kachka.
During his speech, Kachka said he hoped for support for the issue in the chamber. During his address, MPs chanted: “Government, go away!”
“Legally, it must be established that the legal basis is the authority of the Prime Minister, as defined by the Law of Ukraine on the Cabinet of Ministers as a constitutional body. I represent the Cabinet of Ministers here. The reason is, of course, the public resonance associated with the ongoing investigations,” he said.
The minister’s resignation took place against the backdrop of a major corruption scandal at Energoatom. According to the investigation by NABU and SAP, Ihor Myroniuk, an adviser to Halushchenko when he headed the Ministry of Energy, implemented a kickback scheme at NAEK Energoatom. Dmytro Basova, Executive Director for Physical Protection and Security at NAEK, was also involved in the scheme. The investigation believes that Timur Mindich, co-owner of Studio Kvartal 95, was the organiser of the scheme.
Herman Halushchenko
Herman Halushchenko was appointed Minister of Justice in July this year during the “reorganisation” of the Cabinet of Ministers. Prior to that, he had headed the Ministry of Energy since 2021. It was during this period that his adviser, Ihor Myroniuk, according to NABU and SAP, implemented a kickback scheme at Energoatom, organised by Timur Mindich, co-owner of Studio Kvartal 95.
Before his position at the Ministry of Energy, Herman Halushchenko himself headed Energoatom in 2021–2021. Until August 2020, according to the Chesno Movement, he was a member of the leadership of the Patriot Party. Since 2014, he has participated as a lawyer in the defence of Ukraine’s state interests and domestic companies in international courts.
In 2013–2014, he worked as Executive Director for Legal Support at the state-owned company NAEK Energoatom under the leadership of Mykyta Konstantinov, who worked at NAEK in Derkach’s team in 2005–2006.