Rada planned to dismiss Halushchenko and Hrynchuk today, but after rostrum blocking, Stefanchuk closed meeting

The Verkhovna Rada planned to dismiss Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko (in the government of Denys Shmyhal in April 2021-July 2025, he was the Minister of Energy) and Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk on Tuesday, November 18, amid a corruption scandal in the energy sector, but after blocking the rostrum, Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk adjourned the meeting. Stefanchuk announced this during the session, the Ukrainian News agency reports.

During his speech, former President (2014-2019), MP from the European Solidarity faction Petro Poroshenko called for the dismissal of the entire government and the formation of a new coalition.

"We will not allow these two ministers to vote today. We will not vote for an attempt to let off steam and preserve the corruption vertical," he said.

After he said that, the European Solidarity MPs blocked the rostrum and the parliamentary hall.

"Unfortunately, we cannot continue our work, so I thank you all for your "effective work", I am now announcing a break in our plenary session," Stefanchuk said.

He invited the leaders of factions and groups to gather at his place for a meeting

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, on November 10, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) announced that they were conducting a large-scale operation to expose corruption in the energy sector.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said amid the energy corruption scandal that the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Energy should be dismissed and asked the Prime Minister to submit their resignations immediately.

After that, on November 12, Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko submitted a motion to the Verkhovna Rada to dismiss Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko and Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk.