The Ukrainian Minister of Agriculture, suspected of corruption, has resigned

The Ukrainian Minister of Agriculture, Mikola Solski, accused of appropriating land belonging to the state before becoming a member of the government, submitted his resignation on Thursday, in a letter made public by the speaker of the parliament, Ruslan Stefanciuk, AFP informs.

His resignation must also be validated by the parliament. In a message sent by his ministry, Mikola Solski confirmed the letter of resignation, appreciating that this is “the right thing to do”, but adding that he “will continue to work” if the legislature rejects his resignation, according to Agerpres.

The Ukrainian national anti-corruption agency announced on Tuesday that Mikola Solski is suspected of appropriating public lands “worth about 6.9 million euros” and of an attempt to “appropriate other lands” worth about 4, 5 million euros.

According to the respective agency, these facts were carried out in collaboration with officials from the state service in charge of cadastre and mapping, and in the period 2017-2021 the suspects would have illegally taken possession of about 2,500 hectares of land in the Sumî region in the north eastern Ukraine, additionally trying to appropriate another 3,282 hectares, but were prevented by anti-corruption agents and prosecutors.

Mikola Solski worked for a law firm until 2019, when he was elected to parliament, then appointed minister in March 2022, shortly after the launch of the Russian invasion.

The authorities in Kiev have exposed several cases of corruption since the beginning of the war with Russia. Former Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov himself was replaced in September 2023 following a series of corruption scandals involving his ministry. President Volodymyr Zelensky disputes the idea that corruption is an endemic phenomenon in Ukraine and has promised that, after the war, he will be able to deal with it.

Publisher: CLB

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