Ukraine's parliament voted unanimously on Sept. 18 to dismiss the controversial lawmaker Mariana Bezuhla from her position as deputy head of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security and Defense.
The central figure of many controversies, Bezuhla has repeatedly made headlines with her harsh criticism of the former and current military leadership, including ex-Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi and his successor, Oleksandr Syrskyi, as well as former Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk.
The parliament's Committee on Rules of Procedure first supported a resolution to dismiss Bezuhla in January, but a decision was needed from each party faction in parliament.
Bezuhla was dismissed as the head of the subcommittee on civilian oversight over the military in July, a decision she claimed was a "reaction to speaking the truth about the problems in the Armed Forces."
She then resigned from President Volodymyr Zelensky's Servant of the People party.
Bezuhla said that after five years on the National Security Committee, she has decided to transition to a role in the Foreign Affairs Committee to "show the truth to everyone."
She plans to continue to push for oversight on "the national security and defense sector, which is the foundation of working with the military in all successful countries, but which is very weak here."
Francis Farrell
(Updated: )
