Ukrainian Prime Minister on Chopping Block Amid Corruption Scandal, Reports Suggest

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal may be next to go in a major government shakeup announced by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy this week in a bid to root out endemic corruption, Ukrainian media reported.

Zelenskyy said on Monday there would be changes to the cabinet after Ukrainian media reported on irregularities in military procurement schemes. Several senior officials and governors have since been fired or said they have quit.

The announcement came a day after Vasyl Lozynskyy, the acting minister for regional development and Shmyhal’s confidant, was arrested on bribery charges.

One major Ukrainian daily quoted an unnamed government official as saying that Lozynskyy’s ouster did not bode well for the prime minister.

"His case will be used to target the premier or maybe even to have Shmyhal removed from office," the official told the newspaper.

Shmyhal has reportedly sought to distance himself from the disgraced minister, whom he appointed his first deputy after taking office in 2020. Shmyhal’s removal would lead to the government's resignation and allow Zelenskyy to pick a new prime minister, subject to parliamentary approval.