“The Real Reason Is That Zelensky Wants to Control Everything”, Bobyrenko on Avakov’s Resignation (Ukrainian Radio)

15 July 2021

Viktor Bobyrenko, an expert of the Bureau of Policy Analysis, told Ukrainian Radio why Arsen Avakov had resigned.

It is clear that Zelensky is increasing his influence on all aspects of society, including one of the key ministries, which is the third largest part of the budget. Avakov was loyal to Zelensky, but still independent. Moreover, through the National Corps under his control, he was able to partially control the streets: both to organize and to paralyze street protests. Now it all passes into other hands and it is not a fact that Monastyrskyi is loyal to Avakov. He is associated with Avakov, but first of all he is loyal to Zelensky. And, perhaps, Monastyrskyi’s appointment is just a curtsey to Avakov in parting with him, Viktor Bobyrenko suggested.

According to the expert, there are several alternative versions of why Minister Arsen Avakov resigned: He left because Zelensky has something against him, or it was an amicable agreement. The third version assumes that Avakov simply understands that this regime will soon end and therefore leaves this ship.

Viktor Bobyrenko also noted that there is an assumption that Avakov’s resignation is connected with declaring not guilty those accused of killing Sheremet, as previously noted by Volodymyr Zelensky: This could be a matter, but in this case, his resignation would be somewhere in the fall, in the new political season.

Whatever the matter, the real reason is that Zelensky wants to control everything. We have Shmyhal as the Queen of England, because he has no real decision-making power, they are accepted in the Office of the President. And the worst thing is that Oleh Tatarov will be the curator of Monastyrskyi now. Tatarov, who is a corrupt official who was never fired from the President’s Office. In fact, he will now work out a decision in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Internal Affairs will be trained as loyal dogs of the regime, not Ukrainian citizens. In the near future, we will see this substitution of meanings in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Bobyrenko said.

Therefore, according to the expert, perhaps Arsen Avakov really found a good time to leave.

But Zelensky has strengthened his position again and again. Now there is nothing in the country that is outside the hierarchy of the President. I believe that he will continue to try to screw on and do something like the Lukashenko regime. We talk about a strong police state on the one hand, and strong populist decisions on the other. He will try to hold back both on TV and through the police. But, unlike the Belarusian police, ours has experience and we know that after the Maidan there are trials of Berkut members. That is why the Ukrainian police are more loyal to their own people than to the government. This is something that Zelensky may not understand when trying to screw on, Bobyrenko explained.

In addition to that, the expert summed up that in the new political season, President Volodymyr Zelensky has two factors that may affect whether he will remain in power: Zelensky is afraid of the case of the Wagnerians, because there he handed over the topic to Lukashenko. This is a case of treason and this is life imprisonment. The second risk factor is the bills that will come. It is completely unclear how this topic will be closed, because it is about tens of billions of hryvnias that need to be spent on subsidies to cover the gas price.

Source: Ukrainian Radio