No votes: MPs not ready to accept Fedorov’s resignation and appoint Klimenko

As of 9:30, the Verkhovna Rada does not have enough votes to appoint Ihor Klimenko as minister of defense.

This was reported by journalist Yevhen Plinsky, citing his own sources.

According to Plinsky, the problem is not with objections to the current Interior Minister Klimenko — there are none. Members of parliament do not want to vote for the dismissal of Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov due to a wave of public protest that, in the journalist’s words, “exploded with support for him.”

“They perfectly understand that the media wave in support of keeping Fedorov in his post is absolutely sincere and expected. The reasons for his resignation are too clear to everyone to stay quietly silent. That is why hundreds of veterans, military personnel, journalists, and concerned citizens came out today to the ‘cardboard Maidan,'” Plinsky wrote.

The journalist noted that the position of MPs is currently being shaped by several factors: the scale of the protests, the actions of faction and group leaders in the Verkhovna Rada, and the reaction of the president’s office and President Volodymyr Zelensky to citizens’ outrage.

“Everything will be decided at lunchtime, but for now there are no votes,” Plinsky stated.

In Kyiv and other cities, rallies are taking place that day under the slogan “Don’t touch Fedorov.” Hundreds of veterans, military personnel, journalists, and concerned citizens have joined the demonstrations.