Ukraine health minister targeted by parliament

Ukraine’s Voice party announced on Twitter on April 28
that it had collected the 150 national deputy signatures required to call for a
vote on the dismissal of Health Minister Maksym Stepanov. The vote would occur
in an extraordinary session of the legislature.

On April 29, the head of the ruling pro-presidential
Servant of the People parliamentary faction, David Arakhamia, said that the
faction would discuss the matter at a meeting on May 10. Ukrinform.ua reports
that he also claimed that, in his view, the matter would not be formally
addressed before May 15.

Arakhamia also noted that the statement by Voice could
be a warning in light of Stepanov’s failure to successfully launch a COVID-19
vaccination plan. He mentioned that there were “several” potential candidates
for the position, but named only Chief Sanitary Doctor Viktor Lyashko. However,
he noted that Stepanov’s resignation was not being discussed in the
Presidential Office.

James Hydzik: Recall, the National Security and Defense Council decreed on April 4
that Stepanov was to supply a vaccination plan within a week due to a series of
failures previously. In this light, the move by Voice is not a warning, but the
result of Stepanov’s failure to markedly change the vaccination situation.
Stepanov tarnished his reputation not just with the rollout but with observers
pointing to oddities in the vaccine purchasing procedure and expensive clothing
choices afterward. However, because of the holiday schedule, the move to
replace him is drawn out, and Stepanov does have room to mount a defense,
should he want to.