Ukrainian Economy Minister Quits as Government Cracks Widen
- Outgoing minister levels graft accusations as bonds slump
- Post-revolution administration at odds over reform plans, war
A Ukrainian national flag flies above the parliament building, or Verkhovna Rada, in Kiev, Ukraine, on Monday, May 7, 2012. Ukraine's central bank is unlikely to lower rates further after cutting its main interest rate to 7.5 percent in March, Economy Minister Petro Poroshenko said.
Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/BloombergUkraine’s government, splintering over issues from the war in the nation’s east to faltering anti-corruption efforts, suffered a new setback as its reform-minded economy minister stepped down.
Aivaras Abromavicius, 40, a Lithuanian-born former fund manager, said Wednesday that he wouldn’t be a “puppet” for officials he accuses of blocking overhauls of the ex-Soviet republic’s economy and institutions. He said politicians, including one from President Petro Poroshenko’s party, had pressured him to appoint “dubious people” at state-controlled companies. Government bonds slumped after his comments.