'The Coalition Has Fallen Apart': Ukrainian Prime Minister Resigns Amidst MH17 Chaos
The Ukrainian government is struggling to defeat an insurgency by pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country, where MAS plane MH17 was downed on 17 July 2014.
By Sadho Ram — 25 Jul 2014, 12:31 PM — Updated over 10 years ago
Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and his Cabinet announced their resignation on Thursday. Yatsenyuk told Parliament that he was announcing his resignation after the blocking of government initiatives and the collapse of the coalition.
Arseny Yatseniuk's impassioned speech underlined the frustration of many in Ukraine that change is taking too long
Image via guim.co.ukHe resigned after two leading parties in parliament said they would leave the governing coalition. He also cited failure to pass energy laws and an increase to the military budget as reasons for leaving.
thewire.com
“I declare my resignation in connection with the collapse of the coalition and blocking of government initiatives,” Mr. Yatsenyuk said after two major parties announced they were pulling their support, a step that allows President Petro O. Poroshenko to dissolve Parliament and call elections for the fall.
nytimes.com
"At the moment my government does not have the answer" to numerous questions, including how to keep paying government salaries, military expenses and families of flight victims. A "collapsed coalition has consequences," Yatsenyuk said.
The move to dissolve the coalition was not supported by Mr. Yatsenyuk’s Fatherland Party, and in his speech to Parliament, Mr. Yatsenyuk warned that the political maneuvering risked paralyzing the government.
nytimes.com
"History will not forgive us," he told parliament. "Our government now has no answer to the questions – how are we to pay wages, how are we tomorrow morning going to send fuel for armoured vehicles, how will we pay those families who have lost soldiers, to look after the army?"
cnn.comAlthough Parliament has 10 days to vote on Yatsenyuk's resignation, Ukrainian President Petro O. Poroshenko urged the speaker of Parliament to hold a vote on Friday, saying he saw no reason for Yatsenyuk or the rest of the cabinet to resign
“I understand that it works under extremely difficult conditions that have never been faced by a government before,” Mr. Poroshenko wrote in a letter to the speaker, Oleksandr V. Tuchynov. “I hope that emotions fade away, and a cool head and sense of responsibility will win the day.”
mashable.com
The Ukrainian government is struggling to defeat an insurgency by pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country, where Malaysia Airlines' MH17 was downed on 17 July 2014
Arseniy Yatsenyuk, who stepped down as Ukraine's Prime Minister on July 24, walks during a visit to headquaters of Ukrainian forces near small Ukrainian city of Izyum, in Kharkiv region on July 16, 2014.
Image via mshcdn.comArseniy Yatsenyuk, one of the leaders of the Maidan protests, was seen by many Ukrainians as a safe pair of hands, with his mild manner and intellectual demeanour. But he grew angry during Ukraine's parliamentary session as it failed to pass legislation to increase army financing and regulate the country's energy situation.
theguardian.com
The dissolution of the governing coalition suggested that Mr. Poroshenko and his political allies were optimistic that the Ukrainian military would soon succeed in quashing the separatist insurrection that has troubled eastern Ukraine since early April.
nytimes.com
Although fierce fighting continues, particularly near the Russian border, the Ukrainian military has made major advances in recent days, and Mr. Poroshenko’s aides have told allies that they believe the military operation can be completed in up to three weeks, provided there is no invasion by Russia or a large new influx of weapons and fighters across the border.
thewire.com
Still, a State Department spokeswoman said on Thursday that the United States had intelligence indicating that Russia intended to deliver more powerful rocket launchers to Ukrainian rebels and that Russia was firing artillery at Ukrainian military positions.
nytimes.com
Mr. Poroshenko, in a statement issued before Mr. Yatsenyuk’s resignation, had urged Parliament to keep working. He praised lawmakers and said their move reflected the will of Ukrainian voters demanding to replace Parliament, which was elected in 2012 and still includes many members who once supported the previous president, Viktor F. Yanukovych.
washingtonpost.com“All opinion polls, as well as direct communication with the people, shows that the public wants a full rebooting of the authorities,” Mr. Poroshenko said.
nytimes.com
It was not immediately clear if Yatsenyuk's announcement meant that he was leaving the government, or if tendering his resignation was a tactical step to force further negotiations
Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, speaks to Ukrainian Army soldiers outside the eastern town of Slovyansk, Ukraine, Wednesday, July 16, 2014.
Image via mshcdn.comVitaliy Kovalchuk, the parliamentary leader of the Udar Party who helped negotiate the dissolution of the coalition, told reporters outside the chamber that Parliament had not yet voted to accept Mr. Yatsenyuk’s resignation, as required by the Ukraine Constitution, and he said the prime minister’s comments risked “destabilizing the situation in Ukraine.”
mashable.com
Under Ukrainian law, the PM and the rest of the cabinet can resign and continue to work until a replacement government is chosen
Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk of Ukraine resigned on Thursday, warning that political maneuvering risked paralysis
Image via nyt.comSuch a situation occurred this year when Mr. Yanukovych dismissed his government in a bid to quell the street protests that ultimately removed him from office. The process of replacing Parliament will take several months, and Mr. Poroshenko urged lawmakers to work productively in the meantime.
nytimes.com
“The withdrawal of members from the coalition should not paralyze the work of Parliament,” he said. Mr. Poroshenko cited the need to adopt budget amendments, including financing for the military, as well as steps needed to comply with demands of international creditors who helped save Ukraine from default this year.
theguardian.com
“I urged all members of Parliament to work responsibly,” Mr. Poroshenko said, “with the knowledge that Ukraine is now fighting for the sovereignty, territorial integrity, for the very existence of our country, for the future of the Ukrainian people.”
mashable.com
The parliamentary elections will probably be held in late October or early November, a potentially ambitious timetable even if the military operation ends soon, given the deep damage to infrastructure and the displacement of citizens who fled eastern Ukraine to escape the fighting.
nytimes.com
Yatsenyuk's announcement comes as more bodies from MH17 arrived in the Netherlands. The Malaysia Airlines plane was shot down by a suspected surface-to-air missile on 17 July over eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 people onboard.