Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on May 14 formally asked the parliament to fire Health Minister Maksym Stepanov.
The parliament will consider it at its next meeting on May 18.
Stepanov has served as Ukraine’s health minister since March 30, 2020, and earned a mixed record.
Appointed at the beginning of the pandemic, Stepanov oversaw Ukraine’s response to COVID-19, including the introduction of nationwide and local lockdowns, setting up COVID-19 wards in hospitals, booking vaccine supplies and rolling out the vaccination campaign in early 2021.
Stepanov became known for often making contradictory statements and not delivering what he promised.
Under his watch, Ukraine failed the roll-out of its vaccination campaign. Since the start of the vaccination in late February, only 918,162 Ukrainians received the first dose of coronavirus vaccine, and only 8,358 people are fully vaccinated.
This is way behind the government plan. In April, the government planned to administer 2.6 million shots. In reality, only 503,559 shots were administered — five times less than planned.
Supplies of the vaccines are also low. Ukraine, home to over 40 million people, has so far received less than 2 million doses of vaccine.
Amid these shortcomings, rumors of Stepanov’s resignation or firing have been circulating for months. Deputy Health Minister Viktor Lyashko has often been named as the most likely replacement.
Stepanov couldn’t immediately be reached for comment about his proposed resignation.
Stepanov isn’t the only minister who could be replaced within days.
Several Ukrainian media outlets reported on May 14, citing their sources, that Infrastructure Minister Vladyslav Kryklii and Economic Development Minister Ihor Petrashko filed their resignations. The Kyiv Post couldn’t immediately confirm these reports.
