Why the Rada may disrupt the budget week and what the consequences are – Zheleznyak

The plenary week of the Verkhovna Rada, which was set to start on Tuesday and last until Friday, is under threat of disruption. According to MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak, the authorities have been unable to reach an agreement on both the budget and staffing decisions, and some factions are preparing to block the parliament's work. 

Parliament's work: why the session week is under threat

Zheleznyak reported that it became clear at the conference on Monday: there are no votes even for basic decisions. Representatives of “European Solidarity,” “Fatherland,” and the Razumkov group announced their intention to block the podium, demand changes to the budget, renew the government, and meet with the president. According to the MP, at best, the Rada will be able to adopt a few “consolidating” documents, and then either go into a blockade or hold behind-the-scenes consultations without real voting.

On Monday evening, a meeting of the “Servant of the People” faction took place. It gathered only a portion of the deputies, as many majoritarian members were not physically informed in time. According to Zheleznyak, the meeting went on without a clear aim and result: “letting off steam” did not work, and no one heard responses to the main question – how the authorities will proceed.

Key problems of the week that he highlights:

• lack of votes for the budget;
• absence of agreed candidates for ministerial and leadership positions;
• intentions of some factions to block the podium and demand resignations.

Budget-2026: why the “Servant of the People” has no votes

A separate block of conflict – the budget project. Some deputies from the “Servant of the People” refuse to vote due to the disregard for the adopted model of teacher salary increases, others due to underfunding of the army and rejected amendments. According to Zheleznyak, the position of the relevant education committee alone lacks up to sixty votes.

Personnel issues are also pending. The positions of Minister of Justice, Minister of Energy, and Head of the State Property Fund remain vacant. A new approach is formally being discussed, whereby candidates must be proposed by committee heads, and approved by the faction, the prime minister, and the president. However, there are currently no real names for which votes exist. There has also been no response to the proposal to dismiss the Vice Prime Minister for Reconstruction, Oleksiy Kuleba, who is implicated in the story of problematic fortifications.

Zheleznyak believes that the coalition has effectively turned into a “mono-minority,” and the delay in decisions regarding the Office of the President and the government is pushing the parliament deeper into crisis. In his opinion, the chance to adopt the budget this week is extremely low, and during the next non-plenary week, the Rada is unlikely to gather due to planned international trips of the deputies.

Earlier, we reported that Zheleznyak revealed a network of anonymous Telegram channels serving the OP.