Parliament dismisses agriculture minister
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Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, dismissed Agriculture Minister Mykola Solskyi on May 9.
According to lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak, 273 lawmakers voted for Solskyi's resignation from the Verkhovna Rada, exceeding the minimum number of votes required. Eleven lawmakers abstained from voting, 36 were not present, and one voted against his dismissal, Zhelezniak said.
No official mention was made of the reason for Solskyi's dismissal.
Solskyi is suspected of illegally appropriating Ukrainian state-owned land worth Hr 291 million ($7.3 million) and attempting to seize another plot worth an additional Hr 190 million ($4.8 million), according to Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU).
Solskyi denied the allegations on April 24, saying that the case concerned the period of 2017-2018 when he served as a lawyer, not as a minister.
Ukraine's High Anti-Corruption Court ordered Solskyi's arrest on April 26. He was ordered to be held in custody until June 24, but he posted a Hr 75.7 million ($1.9 million) bail on the same day and was released.
Solskyi submitted his resignation to the Ukrainian parliament on April 25, just a day after he said he had not planned to resign. As lawmakers have not voted for his dismissal earlier, Solskyi continued his duties as the agriculture minister until May 9.
Ukraine's High Anti-Corruption Court also previously ordered the arrest of Deputy Agricultural Minister Markiian Dmytrasevych, who is one of the suspects in an illegal land acquisition case involving Solskyi.
