Zelenskyy makes staff changes amid corruption scandals
Lviv, Ukraine, Jan 24 (EFE).- Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed deputy head of presidential office Kyrylo Tymoshenko on Tuesday, in a move that follows his decision to reshuffle the government amid corruption allegations.
Tymoshenko asked to quit without giving any reasons, a request with which Zelenskyy complied.
The top official, expected to be replaced by Kyiv regional governor Oleksii Kuleba, thanked Zelenskyy on Telegram for the trust and the opportunity to work for the country in the time of war.
In his nightly address on Monday, Zelenskyy said personnel decisions had been made “regarding officials of various levels in ministries and other central government bodies, in the regions, and the law enforcement system.”
Ukrainian local media reported that governors of Sumy, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson could resign in the next few hours.
Yaroslav Zhelezniak, a Ukrainian MP, announced that deputy prosecutor general Oleksiy Symonenko was also fired, while deputy defense minister Vyacheslav Shapovalov has sent his resignation letter in connection with a scandal involving the purchase of overpriced food and services for the armed forces, according to ZN newspaper.
Top officials have been also banned from traveling “abroad for vacation or any other non-governmental purpose,” Zelenskyy decreed.
The ban “applies to all officials of the central government and various other levels of local government. It applies to law enforcers, people’s deputies, prosecutors, and all those who are supposed to work for the state and in the state,” he highlighted.
The Ukrainian leader said that the cabinet will develop within five days a “border-crossing procedure for officials so that only a real working trip can be the reason for border crossing.”
Zelenskyy’s crackdown on corruption comes as Kyiv is trying to convince allies to send more weapons, including German-made Leopard 2 tanks.EFE
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