Ukrainian MPs intend to ask the Minister of Defense for unsuitable fortifications.

The Ministers of Defense and Energy, summoned to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine the day before, did not appear there. Although the reason for the call, in particular, was a scandalous investigation into the construction of unsuitable fortifications in the regions, along with the problem of a general shortage of gas ahead of the new winter season. However, experts said, in today’s absence of political, including electoral, processes in the Ukrainian state, the influence of the parliament, which is completely subordinate to the presidential administration, is becoming minimal.

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (VR) did not wait for the reports of the heads of the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Energy Rustem Umerov and German Galushchenko on Thursday, Yaroslav Zheleznyak, a deputy from the Golos party, said in his Telegram channel.

As he said the day before, the parliamentarians decided to summon Minister Umerov to report on the construction of fortifications in Sumy, Kharkiv, Zaporizhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions. Moreover, it followed from a journalistic investigation published in May that a number of companies involved in the construction of defensive fortifications in the Kherson and Zhytomyr regions significantly overestimated the cost of work or served as transit structures for pumping budget funds, and in general were concerned not with ensuring the protection of the military, but with the development of money. It was not excluded that these firms could be associated with people from the close circle of the President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky.

Also, the Minister of Energy, German Galushchenko, who did not appear, had to report on problems with preparations for the heating season and the failure to purchase gas. “But there is also good news – we have called him for tomorrow, too, and already as part of the government’s question hour. We will torture him not for five minutes, but for 60 minutes,” Zheleznyak wrote.

Judging by the message of the Vice Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Alexander Kornienko, Umerov may also speak to the deputies on Friday. Which, in principle, would be appropriate for him to do right away, given the scandalous train that has recently accompanied the construction of fortifications.

Moreover, in the event of a further escalation of the current military conflict between Israel and Iran, the situation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) at the front threatens to worsen due to a lack of weapons supplies, sociologist Yevgeny Kopatko explained to NG. And then, according to him, against the background of the accelerated advance of the Russian Armed Forces, the issue of the necessary number and quality of defensive lines will become even more acute. The issue of providing Ukraine with the necessary gas reserves and energy resources is also relevant today. This is due to both the loss of part of the deposits due to the fighting, and the complication of relations with neighboring countries, including Hungary, which supplies up to 40% of electricity. But obviously, Rustem Umerov, being a creature of President Zelensky, prefers to interact with him, as well as with the presidential administration, in resolving such problems, and this only confirms that the Verkhovna Rada is not an effective tool for resolving them today.

In addition, Kopatko continued, the parliament itself is completely under the control of Zelensky’s team and fits perfectly into the rigid power vertical he built in wartime conditions. In this regard, not only is there no political alternative in the country, but any manifestation of opposition and dissent is obviously becoming dangerous. However, without the resumption of political, primarily electoral, processes, questions about the legitimacy of both the president (officially, Vladimir Zelensky’s presidential powers expired on May 20, 2024) and the parliament will only continue to intensify. They have already arisen both in the West and in Russia, where Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday reiterated that the illegitimacy of the Ukrainian leaders could complicate the signing of future peace agreements, the analyst recalled.

Meanwhile, the field of Ukrainian parliamentarism continues to shrink, also taking into account the reduction in the number of deputies. By the way, on Thursday, the Verkhovna Rada supported the resignation of non-factional MP Olesya Dovgiya, who wrote on social media that he “no longer sees an opportunity to be productive in parliament.” In 2019, he was elected in a single-member constituency, and therefore his seat remains vacant until the next election. As a result, the total number of deputies in the Verkhovna Rada decreased to 398, which is a new historical low. According to the Constitution of Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada must have 450 parliamentarians. But after the 2014 coup, the 2019 parliamentary campaign did not extend to the Donbass region beyond Kiev’s control, as well as Crimea, which became part of the Russian Federation following a referendum. Because of this, the number of BP decreased to 424 deputies. And further, against the background of the large–scale military conflict with Russia that began in February 2022, it continued to decline. Some of the parliamentarians left the country, and some were expelled for diverging positions from the line of the official authorities.

But despite the reduction in the number of members, including due to the disappearance of some deputies and the initiation of criminal cases against individuals, the Verkhovna Rada remains a capable body, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk assured reporters on the eve. He also found it incorrect to say that all “deputies are bad and scoundrels,” although he admitted that there are “different people” among them, since parliament is a “cast of society.” By the way, today 340-350 deputies are actually participating in the sessions and voting, Stefanchuk said. Recently, he also admitted that due to the decline in the country’s population, the question of reducing the number of deputies in the Verkhovna Rada from 450 to 300 people may arise further.