Avakov resigns. This is not a statement or a call from the public, but a fact — Arsen Avakov wrote a letter of resignation.

It appears that no one has ever said so much about any minister. The surname “Avakov” and the prefix “minister” have been inseparable for more than 7 years. They will continue to be so until the Verkhovna Rada supports his statement.

This is Zelensky’s decision to say goodbye to the eternal minister, and Avakov’s decision to get away clean.

It is unlikely that we will see a repeat of the situation of the fall of 2018, when only 38 MPs in the Verkhovna Rada supported the resignation of then Prosecutor General Yurii Lutsenko. The President has already introduced a new candidate from the Servant of the People faction — Denys Monastyrskyi, the head of the law enforcement committee, who is said to be from Avakov’s entourage.

With the victory in 2019, Volodymyr Zelenskyy received the much-desired mono-majority, and together with it — his own government and Avakov in it. MPs made excuses that they voted for the entire government with virtuous professionals, and not for Avakov personally. The same arguments were mentioned in March 2020, when the first rotation of the Cabinet of Ministers during Zelenskyy’s presidency took place — from Honcharuk to Shmyhal. Whatever happened, no matter what scandals tore the front pages of the media — Avakov always remained in the chair. He began to look like an indispensable general in the government, but not the President’s man.

Many scandals featured the Ministry of Internal Affairs: corruption scandals and procurement at inflated prices, inertia of law enforcement officers in the investigation of attacks on activists, sabotage of the investigation of the Kateryna Handziuk case, the failed reform of the National Police of Ukraine, the NABU case against Avakov’s son and “backpacks,” the murder of 5-year-old Kyrylo Tliavov, very dubious suspects in the case of journalist Pavlo Sheremet, a shootout in Brovary, and so on. It didn’t affect anything.

Zelenskyy once said: Avakov is a powerful minister. That is, there was no one to replace him with. At that time. Apparently, the President finally found levers of pressure on Avakov, the minister, and an alternative to such “power.”

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This is Zelensky's decision to say goodbye to the eternal minister, and Avakov's decision to get away clean.

I feel sad for two reasons.

The first one — Avakov is leaving gracefully. Many politicians consider him almost a hero-statesman, an effective minister who over the years has ensured stability in one of the largest government ministries. It was during his leadership that the government signed and the Verkhovna Rada ratified the agreement with the French government for EUR 1.3 bln for procurement of electric locomotives, sewage treatment plants, and ladders for fire trucks with credit funds and bypassing public procurement. Avakov, his inner circle and MPs emphasize the special role of the interior minister in this agreement.

The second one — most likely, the President wants to completely take over the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the National Guard as well. It is obvious that our old and good friend,  Oleh Tatarov, the deputy head of the Presidential Office, will be responsible for this area. The man who triggers even worse emotions than Avakov himself. The man who has no place in the current government. The person who hardly has pro-Ukrainian and virtuous interests.

I’m afraid to even outline the scale of the possible trash.

This is not a simple multi-way combination. According to its results, Ukrainians will probably be deceived again. No longer an eternal minister will escape liability for a number of his dubious decisions, and one of the largest and most influential ministries will probably come under the control of the Presidential Office.