KYIV – It has been a momentous 10 days or so in Ukrainian politics, both within and around the Verkhovna Rada. The new Parliament dominated by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Servant of People party has gotten off to a frenetic start, removing the immunity from prosecution that national deputies had enjoyed and initiating many other changes, some of which will require amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine.
A new government has been created – the youngest in Europe, the prosecutor general has been replaced and a civilian has been named minister of defense. On September 4, the new Cabinet of Ministers also endorsed President Zelenskyy’s earlier request that Volodymyr Klitschko be removed from his post as head of the Kyiv City State Administration. As a result, he will remain as mayor until the next local elections but will lose some of his administrative powers.