On Thursday, May 9, the Verkhovna Rada dismissed the Deputy Prime Minister for the Reconstruction of Ukraine - the Minister of Development of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure of Ukraine Alexander Kubrakov, as well as the head of the Ministry of Agrarian and Industrial Complex Nikolai Solsky.
The deputies also decided to divide Kubrakov’s ministry into two – the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Ministry of Regional Policy. What are the reasons for the resignations, why were two ministries created from one and what could this lead to?
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After lengthy behind-the-scenes conversations, the Verkhovna Rada finally adopted a number of personnel decisions in the Cabinet of Ministers. We are talking about the dismissal of Minister of Agrarian Policy Nikolai Solsky. The fact that the issue was finally resolved became clear after NABU announced Solsky on April 23 with suspicion in the case of appropriation of state land. Then the investigation noted that the criminal group led by a “top official” included other officials of the State GeoCadastre bodies, including persons who controlled the activities of these bodies. At the same time, Solsky resigned, which was “consecrated” by the Verkhovna Rada with 273 votes.
The situation with Kubrakov is different.
It is significant that 272 people’s deputies voted for the dismissal of the deputy prime minister within the Verkhovna Rada, although the reasons for Kubrakov’s resignation were not officially announced. However, earlier at a meeting of the Servant of the People faction, the dismissal of the Deputy Prime Minister was justified by the possible division of the Ministry of Development of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure of Ukraine.
After his dismissal, Kubrakov himself, without hiding his resentment, wrote on Facebook: “The leadership of the faction and the head of government Denis Shmigal did not discuss this decision with me. The faction and the relevant commission were not invited to the meeting.” And he added that he is always ready for an open dialogue and a detailed report on the work of the ministry in all areas of my responsibility.
However, talk about Kubrakov’s impending dismissal has been spreading in pro-government media resources over the past month.
“Kubrakov managed to part ways with all the players who had previously bet on him. We are talking, in particular, about Yuri Golik, with whom they were involved in the Big Construction,” a government source told Apostrophe at the time.
Experts directly say that behind Kubrakov’s resignation is the head of the Presidential Office, Andrei Ermak, who considers him a “foreign body” in the executive power system.
“Indeed, Kubrakov was not Ermak’s man. I would say that he was closer to Kirill Tymoshenko,” political strategist Vitaly Bala noted in a commentary to Apostrophe, “what he didn’t like about the President’s Office, you can guess. But his resignation does not change anything. The issue here is much more complicated.”
An important factor, as experts note, is that Kubrakov was sitting on a “mountain of gold”: his ministry operates with significant foreign financial resources to restore infrastructure as a result of Russian strikes.
“Kubrakov, while leading an important ministry, concentrated large financial flows in his hands,” political scientist Viktor Nebozhenko comments on the situation to Apostrophe, “And his resignation is a fight for these flows. And there is nothing surprising in the fact that Kubrakov was fired simply by presenting him with a fait accompli. “Servants of the People” dismiss only “their own” with honors, remember Alexei Reznikov, but do not stand on ceremony with “not their own.”
To be fair, it is worth noting that during his tenure, Alexander Kubrakov repeatedly got into scandals. Thus, in 2023, NABU and SAPO employees exposed a criminal group involved in the theft of budget funds, which included Kubrakov’s deputy Vasily Lozinsky. Lozinsky was subsequently dismissed from his position in the ministry.
In addition, Kubrakov was called one of the “patrons” of the online casino Pin-UP, whose license was revoked in 2023.
Well, the biggest scandal erupted after the Russians launched a missile attack on the Trypilska Thermal Power Plant in the Kyiv region. Then the Verkhovna Rada summoned Kubrakov to report on this case, but did not appear in parliament.
Half-empty Cabinet
As already noted, one ministry will be turned into two – the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Ministry of Regional Policy. It is still unclear who will lead them. Previously, the name of the deputy head of the OP Alexei Kuleba appeared, but at the moment there is no final decision.
As people's deputy Alexey Goncharenko noted, there are now 5 vacant positions in the Cabinet of Ministers. The government does not have: the Minister of Agrarian Policy, the Minister of Infrastructure and Territorial Development, the Minister of Youth and Sports, the Minister of Veterans Affairs, the Minister of Culture and Information Policy. And if the first two ministries were released only today, the last three have been working without ministers for a long time.
“I think that the Office of the President will find people for the newly formed two ministries, since there are financial flows there. And the ministries of sports, culture and veterans will be empty,” suggests Viktor Nebozhenko.
“People don’t want to go because they don’t want to have anything to do with the current government,” says Vitaly Bala.
The future fate of Alexander Kubrakov himself raises questions.
As noted in the Servant of the People faction, Kubrakov will not be reassigned yet. In the coming days, people's deputies, together with the Cabinet of Ministers, will divide the ministry into two separate departments - the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Ministry of Regional Policy.
For now it is planned that Kubrakov will remain acting. Minister of Infrastructure. At the same time, the question of whether the ex-deputy prime minister will be appointed to the post of head of the newly created ministry remains open.
“I do not rule out that some kind of criminal case may be opened against Kubrakov and investigators will come to him. But the new minister will already know how to keep his position,” says Viktor Nebozhenko.
“Personnel pandemonium during a full-scale war is not even sad, but very, very bitter. But the authorities apparently don’t understand this,” sums up Vitaly Bala.
