Ukraine's agriculture minister, suspected of state land grab, resigns

Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, Mykola Solskyi, who is suspected of seizing state land worth UAH 291 million (over USD 7 million), has resigned

This was announced by the Chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament Ruslan Stefanchuk.

"The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has received a letter of resignation from Mykola Solskyi as Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine," he wrote.

According to Stefanchuk, the statement will be considered at one of the next plenary sessions.

On April 23, it was reported that the Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office had identified the former head of the Verkhovna Rada's Agricultural Committee and Minister Solsky as having seized state land worth UAH 291 million: they were served with a notice of suspicion.

This is the first case against a minister under President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The position of agricultural minister is especially important given Ukraine's efforts to keep its grain exports, a critical economic component, in the face of Russia's full-scale invasion.