About 200 protesters on Aug. 28 demanded the resignation of Interior Minister Arsen Avakov in front of the Presidential Office in Kyiv.
The Verkhovna Rada is scheduled to appoint a new Cabinet on Aug. 29. Avakov may stay in the government after a new Cabinet is formed by the newly-elected Verkhovna Rada, according to numerous sources.
The Ukrainska Pravda online newspaper reported on Aug. 23, citing its sources, that Avakov is expected to become a deputy prime minister in charge of law enforcement.
Avakov’s stint in office since 2014 has been marred with numerous accusations of corruption and sabotage of reforms.
In 2017 Avakov’s son Oleksandr and Avakov’s ex-deputy Serhiy Chebotar were arrested and charged by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine with embezzling Hr 14 million in a case related to the supply of overpriced backpacks to the Interior Ministry. They deny the accusations.
In 2018 anti-corruption prosecutors closed the case against Oleksandr Avakov and Chebotar. However, Security Service of Ukraine video footage has been published on the Internet where Oleksandr Avakov and Chebotar discuss a scheme to supply backpacks to the National Guard in Chebotar’s office.
Avakov’s police have also been lambasted for failing to investigate about a hundred attacks on activists and journalists since 2014, including at least 12 murders.
