The Ukrainian Committee on Rules of Procedure, Parliamentary Ethics and Organisation of Work of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has recommended the Ukrainian parliament exclude opposition leader Petro Poroshenko, head of the European Solidarity party, from participating in a single plenary session. This recommendation follows his alleged offensive remarks towards another deputy, Bohdan Yaremenko, from President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Servant of the People party, which holds the majority in parliament.
This means that a decision to suspend former President Poroshenko from parliamentary duties for six months may be approved at future parliamentary sessions, which could undermine parliament’s independence and create a crisis amid ongoing Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Iryna Herashchenko, from the European Solidarity party, stated that the parliament’s committee recommended removing Poroshenko without any evidence that he had made any negative comments towards other deputies.
“This decision was made by six members of parliament, four of whom are from the Servant of the People party, and two from the former Opposition Platform — For Life party. Apart from the words of the ‘Servants,’ no information, facts, or evidence were provided, and there is no video of these alleged conversations,” the politican told Euromaidan Press.
The Opposition Platform—For Life was a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine that was banned in 2022 after Russia’s all-out war against Ukraine started. Its former members now serve in parliament either as part of other factions or as independents.
Mykyta Poturaiev, head of the committee on humanitarian and informational policy, launched the statement regarding Poroshenko’s “improper behavior,” according to Suspilne.
However, the European Solidarity party’s press service revealed that Poroshenko’s recommendation for the suspension was created after he reportedly insulted deputy Bohdan Yaremenko from the Servant of the People faction in a private conversation. It added that the party views such actions by the authorities as “political pressure and selectivity.”
According to Glavkom, Petro Poroshenko was outraged by a social media post discussing the voting statistics regarding the exclusion of Yurii Boyko, leader of the “Platform for Life and Peace” parliamentary group, from the Human Rights, De-occupation, and Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine Committee.
Recently, parliament managed, on its second attempt, to recall the pro-Russian politician Boiko, who had recently been questioned by the Security Service after making a statement about “Ukrainian radicals” who were “starting to tear down monuments across the country, renaming cities, banning people from speaking their native language, and preventing them from attending the church of their choice.”
The publication reports that on 19 December, the day after the vote, Poroshenko contacted Poturaiev for clarification on the statistics. Poroshenko emphasized that he had “purchased and sent drones to the front,” while it was unclear what others in parliament were doing. When Yaremenko asked whether anyone else could have sent the drones, Poroshenko answered with strong language.
Later, Poroshenko responded to the committee’s recommendation to suspend him, explaining that he was in France for meetings with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the parliament to discuss the potential delivery of Mirage fighter jets to Ukraine.
Poroshenko emphasized that his team’s primary focus is supporting the army, dedicating “80% of their time to this and another 10% to parliamentary diplomacy.”
“As the opposition, we are also working to prevent the ruling majority from implementing corrupt schemes in the defense sector,” Poroshenko added.
The decision on Poroshenko’s removal will now be up to the full parliament at its next sessions.
“This is a regulatory decision, and it can be raised at any time. Once the ‘Servants’ convene, it will be considered. The session is scheduled to begin on 4 February, as per legislation that requires the parliamentary session to start on the first Tuesday of February,” added Herashchenko.
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