Head of the Ministry of Environment has a chance to keep his post after the renewal of the government – Zheleznyak

Minister Ruslan Strilets may remain in his post in the event of a possible reset of the current Cabinet of Ministers headed by Denys Shmyhal. He is one of 6 heads of ministries who are likely to retain their seats in the government.

This was reported by MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak, citing his own information and forecasts from the LB.ua publication.

Thus, he believes that those “who are doing well and have a high probability of retaining their positions” include:

1. Mykhailo Fedorov, Deputy Prime Minister for Digitalization.
2. Minister of Finance Serhiy Marchenko.
3. Oleksandr Kamyshin, Minister of Strategic Industries.
4. Defense Minister Rustem Umyerov.
5. Minister of Health Viktor Lyashko.
6. Minister of Environmental Protection Ruslan Strilets.

People's deputy Zheleznyak named among those who may lose their position:

1. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal is replaced by Yulia Svyridenko.
2. Minister of the CMU Oleg Nemchinov.
3. Minister of Justice Denys Malyuska – his ministerial portfolio will be attached to that of Deputy Prime Minister Olga Stefanyshina.
4. Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration Iryna Vereshchuk – her portfolio will be added to the new Minister of Regions Oleksiy Kuleba.
5. Minister Oksana Zholnovich – her first deputy Daryna Marchak may replace her.
6. Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba – someone from the OP will replace him: Sebiga, Zhovkva or Tochytskyi.

Illustrations: t.me/yzheleznyak.

Almost all the time, as long as Mr. Strelets holds the position of the head of the Ministry of Environment, EcoPolitics hears criticism of his activities from ecologists and ecoactivists, as well as from industrialists. And more: in 2023 The European Commission rated it at "2" according to a five-point scale of the work of the department headed by him in the implementation of European integration environmental reforms.

At the end of 2023, Ukrainian experts also gave an assessment of the annual work of Mr. Strilets in his position. According to their scale he got 4 out of 10 due to the lack of transparency and accountability of the work of the ministry. He was noted as the only minister in the last 4 terms of office who does not communicate with public organizations

But this did not stop the head of the Ministry of Environment enter to the top 10 richest ministers of Ukraine based on declarations for 2022, as well as to become #6 in the government by earnings in 2023. The publication "Slovo i Dilo" then reported that the salary of the head of the Ministry of Environmental Protection is much higher than that of the Prime Minister and his deputies.

In 2023, summing up the results of Ruslan Strilets' one-year stay in office, ecoactivists even accused his in the fact that he began to resort to the methods of the era of Yanukovych's presidency. They said that against the background of criticism of the new draft law No. 9136 "On improving the management of the objects of the nature reserve fund of Ukraine", Strelets and his team forced a number of directors of national parks and reserves to write comments in support of the draft law.

EcoPolitic also told that law enforcement officers are investigating the involvement of Minister Ruslan Strilets in a corruption scheme for the purchase of electricity at significantly inflated prices.