On July 16, Mykyta Poturaiev, a People's Servant faction member of parliament, announced from the Verkhovna Rada tribune that he was filing a declaration of early resignation. He did not name an official reason, but left a clear hint.
"I would ask that this be considered with the same urgency as the other decisions that forced me to make this decision"
Mykyta Poturaiev — from the Verkhovna Rada tribune, July 16
MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak publicly explained the essence: according to him, Poturaiev's resignation is related to disagreement over personnel changes in the Cabinet of Ministers. The context is obvious. Just two days earlier, on July 14, the Rada voted to dismiss Yulia Svyrydenko's government. The defense minister Mykhailo Fedorov was also expected to go — a person who had been criticized within the presidential team for disagreements over procurement approaches and mobilization.
What Fedorov's departure means
Fedorov took over the Defense Ministry in January 2026 and launched several reforms: new contracts for military personnel, salary increases, recruitment of foreigners. However, he did not complete the transformation of the agency according to NATO standards and the transition of purchases to a tender system — he acknowledged this in his latest statement. According to Suspilne, President Zelensky is proposing current Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko for his position.
For Poturaiev — head of the parliamentary committee on humanitarian and information policy — this reshuffling became a breaking point. He left the faction not due to a scandal or pressure, but due to disagreement with a decision that the faction supported.
Who will take his place
The replacement mechanism is standard. The Verkhovna Rada must vote on accepting the declaration, after which the mandate will pass to the next candidate on the People's Servant electoral list. That is Bohdan Morklynnyk. That is, the faction does not lose its parliamentary seat, and its support for the new Cabinet remains even less in question.
- July 14 — The Rada sent Svyrydenko's government into resignation
- July 16 — Poturaiev announces his resignation directly during the session
- The same day — protests against Fedorov's resignation gather in Kyiv
The departure of a single deputy under martial law is a rare but telling event: there is a limit to loyalty within the monoparty majority, and the president's personnel decisions test this limit. If Klymenko truly takes over the Defense Ministry, the committee that Poturaiev is leaving will get a new head already under new defense leadership.
The question that remains open: will Poturaiev follow the example of a lone protest — or will other People's Servant MPs be willing to publicly withdraw their support for the reshuffle before the vote on the new Cabinet?
