This month, 1,000 people chose to support the Kyiv Independent. Can we count on you, too?
Become a member
Skip to content
Edit post

Ukraine’s Youth and Sports minister submits his resignation

by Dinara Khalilova November 8, 2023 4:08 PM 3 min read
Minister of Youth and Sports of Ukraine Vadym Gutzeit speaks during an interview with AFP in Kyiv on April 11, 2023, amid the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine. (Sergeu Chuzavkov/AFP via Getty Images)
This audio is created with AI assistance

Youth and Sports Minister Vadym Gutzeit submitted his resignation to the Ukrainian parliament, Chairman Ruslan Stefanchuk reported on Nov. 8.

According to Stefanchuk, the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament, will soon consider Gutzeit’s resignation.

Commenting on his decision, Gutzeit said he wants to concentrate on his work at Ukraine’s National Olympic Committee, which he has headed since November last year.

Gutzeit, a Ukrainian Olympic champion saber fencer, has been the Youth and Sports Minister since March 2020 and has combined the two positions for almost a year.

“During this year, there was a lot of manipulation regarding my powers, the decisions made, and the combination of these positions,” the official said on Facebook.

Gutzeit was also the chief of the Ukrainian Fencing Federation from 2017 to March 2023.

On Nov. 7, Ukrainian lawmakers Yaroslav Zhelezniak and Oleksii Honcharenko said via their Telegram channels that Gutzeit might be dismissed soon.

Opinion: It’s time to ban Russian athletes from the 2024 Olympic Games
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on Oct. 12 that it would suspend the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) after it incorporated the regional sports organizations from four territories illegally annexed from Ukraine. In its statement, the IOC said the ROC’s inclusion of Donetsk, Luhan…

The Ukrainian media outlet LB.ua wrote in October that Gutzeit had been preparing to leave his position and the potential candidate for replacement, Anton Nikulin, had already passed the job interview. Nikulin currently heads a sports department at the Lviv City Council.

Gutzeit might have been involved in the case of alleged embezzlement of over Hr 2.2 million ($60,000) of state funds when he was the head of the youth and sports department at the Kyiv City Council from 2018 to 2020, Hromadske reported, citing court materials.

According to Hromadske, the department was purchasing boats for Kyiv athletes from an entrepreneur who was also a coach of a children's sports school controlled by the Kyiv City Council.

Commenting on the reports, Gutzeit's lawyer, Pavlo Nasadchuk, told the Ukrainska Pravda online newspaper that Gutzeit hadn't been involved in the case as a suspect and Ukrainian authorities hadn't brought any charges against the official.

"On my recommendation, the department (of the Kyiv City Council) conducted its own inspection... And at that time, it was established that the procedures (procurement) were carried out properly," reportedly said Nasadchuk.

Ukraine’s sports minister: As Russia kills our athletes, it’s not the time to allow Russians back to international sports
Editor’s Note: This interview was recorded before the International Olympics Committee’s announcement on allowing some Russian and Belarusian athletes to take part in Olympic qualification tournaments. Following the executive board meeting on March 28, the International Olympics Committee (IOC) rec…
Let’s see how far we can go?
We’ve been amazed by your support. We’ve reached our initial goal of finding 1,000 new paying members. We still have till the end of our birthday campaign — with more support, we can do even more good journalism. Over 13,000 people are standing behind us. Can we count on you, too?
Show us support this birthday month
Become a member
visa masterCard americanExpress

News Feed

1:50 PM  (Updated: )

Reuters reports Assad may have died in plane crash, later removes report.

Reuters on Dec. 8 reported, citing its Syrian sources that "there was a very high probability that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad may have been killed in a plane crash" as he was fleeing Damascus following its capture by rebels. Reuters later deleted the information from its reporting.
11:50 PM

US announces $988 million military aid package for Ukraine.

The latest aid package will be pulled through the remaining $2 billion in funding from the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) — a Pentagon-led program for supplying arms to Ukraine through contracts with U.S. defense companies.
MORE NEWS

Editors' Picks

Enter your email to subscribe
Please, enter correct email address
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Explaining Ukraine with Kate Tsurkan
* indicates required
Successfuly subscribed
Thank you for signing up for this newsletter. We’ve sent you a confirmation email.