Conflict between Razumkov and the Servants: rumors of resignation, Presidential Office reaction and opposition opinion

The Presidential Office has threatened Zelensky's intervention if disagreements with the Servant of the People party continue.

Verkhovna Rada Speaker Dmytro Razumkov spoke about rumors that some members of parliament are allegedly being offered bribes to support "certain resignations" in government.

Right after this, his conflict with the ruling party Servant of the People escalated, while the Presidential Office threatened "decisive action" over "fundamental disagreements between Razumkov and the president's initiatives".

How the conflict developed, what the sides are saying, and how opposition parties reacted.

Razumkov's statement

Razumkov said rumors claim lawmakers are allegedly being offered "50,000-100,000 each" to support "certain resignations" in government, and asked anti-corruption agencies to verify this information.

Dmytro Razumkov
Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada

Today we see a lot of rumors, a lot of gossip, a lot of information in the media, there are some conversations — someone offers someone 50-70-100 thousand for a vote for certain resignations. I do not fully understand in which offices this is happening and who is conducting such negotiations, but it certainly has a negative impact on the work and image of the Verkhovna Rada.

Details: He stressed that "against the backdrop of everything else that sometimes happens with our colleagues", such information certainly does not add points for deputies.

Razumkov also added that he personally is "almost convinced that this does not correspond to reality", but asks anti-corruption agencies to verify this information.

Reaction of the Servant of the People

Alexander Kornienko, head of the Servant of the People party, said the faction is not yet initiating a procedure to recall Dmytro Razumkov from the post of parliament speaker.

Alexander Kornienko
head of the Servant of the People party

There is a procedure for recalling the Verkhovna Rada chairman, and it is quite clearly set out. At the moment when deputies want to initiate this procedure, they will initiate it. Right now we have no initiators of such a procedure, no signature sheets, no questions at all.

Responding to a follow-up question about Razumkov's words that lawmakers are allegedly being offered "50,000-100,000 each" to support "certain resignations" in government, Kornienko expressed confidence that anti-corruption agencies would be able to sort out this situation.

Alexander Kornienko
head of the Servant of the People party

No one offered me anything, and I did not offer anything. Further, this is a matter for the anti-corruption agencies, and they work excellently... I think there will be no problems at all in bringing all this to light... But it seems to me these are more like rumors. All the more so, given the media outlets that first spread this information, I would not fully trust them: they present themselves as the best media in the country, but there is a lot of unverified information there.

Servant of the People faction leader Davyd Arakhamia acknowledged certain disagreements between the political force and the speaker, but noted that Razumkov is still perceived as a person from the pro-government team.

However, he noted that the party would like to hear some explanations from Razumkov, since "many journalists and experts hint that the speaker is preparing to build a separate political career".

Reaction of the Presidential Office

Adviser to the head of the Presidential Office Mykhailo Podolyak also acknowledged disagreements with Razumkov and allowed for the intervention of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the situation.

Overall, he noted that he does not intend to discuss anyone's resignation, but nevertheless pointed out that Razumkov's post is "delegated, not elected".

Mykhailo Podolyak
adviser to the head of the Presidential Office

It is clear that Razumkov faces no criminal claims. But fundamental disagreements have emerged between the party and Dmytro Alexandrovich. Recall his refusal to vote in the National Security and Defense Council on things like sanctions against Medvedchuk and sanctions against TV channels, which are certainly a continuation of the Moscow information school, his reluctance to vote for land reform, and his clear unwillingness to vote for the anti-oligarchic law. All of this is against the party that delegated him to the post of speaker.

He stated that Razumkov is trying to "preserve and mothball the system that exists now".

Mykhailo Podolyak
adviser to the head of the Presidential Office

There are two options. Either you are a key member of the team, because you are still the speaker of parliament and allow moderation processes on fundamental presidential initiatives to be more effective. Or you declare that oligarchs are good, and the existing oligarchic system in the state is quite optimal.

According to Podolyak, what is shocking about Razumkov's behavior is that he "openly supports precisely the oligarchs"

Opposition opinion

Opposition factions unanimously do not support the idea of replacing Verkhovna Rada Speaker Dmytro Razumkov.

Co-chair of the European Solidarity faction Iryna Heraschenko believes that since Razumkov headed the party's electoral list of Servant of the People, he bears responsibility together with President Volodymyr Zelensky for "the whole circus" in parliament.

Iryna Heraschenko
co-chair of the European Solidarity faction

But credit where it is due: he is trying to defend at least a minimum of parliamentary independence. We were the only faction that did not vote for his appointment, and I am afraid we will be the only faction that does not vote for his dismissal.

Leader of the Voice faction Yaroslav Zheleznyak also said his team does not support Razumkov's resignation: "We will certainly not support it. We voted for him. He is doing his job. And it is very good that he works according to the rules of procedure".

Notably, Razumkov was also supported by the pro-Russian OPZZh faction.

"I believe the speaker takes an absolutely state position, because he treats with respect both his pro-government faction and the opposition, gives everyone a chance to speak, and follows the rules of procedure. The only reason they want to replace him is that he is not fully manual and does not carry out all the whims of the Presidential Office," said OPZZh co-chair Yuriy Boyko.

Deputy head of the Batkivshchyna faction Serhiy Sobolev believes that "although any meanness can be expected in politics, such a one is unlikely to be decided on by the single-party majority".

According to Sobolev, if the first number on the presidential party's electoral list "becomes another victim of this regime, the one whose feet have been wiped on, this will characterize the Servant of the People and whom they serve".