Ukraine's parliament ousts sports minister Gutzeit as 243 lawmakers support resignation

The Verkhovna Rada supported the resignation of Vadym Gutzeit from the post of Minister of Youth and Sports, MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak reported.

The decision regarding Gutzeit was supported by 243 parliamentarians.

The photo shows the voting by factions.

Yesterday, the legislature received his resignation letter. The Speaker of the Parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk, promised to consider it in the near future.

Earlier, two sources of LIGA.net in the leadership of the Servant of the People faction reported that this week only Gutzeit's dismissal will be considered, while the issue of appointing a successor is not on the agenda.

Vadym Gutzeit is a Ukrainian fencer, saber fencer and Olympic champion. Currently, he also holds the position of president of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine. In 2020, a number of Ukrainian mass media, in particular hromadske, reported that Gutzeit appeared in the materials of the case about the alleged embezzlement of state funds for the purchase of boats for Kyiv athletes.

On July 27, the Ministry of Sports did not grant permission to leave Ukraine to 54-year-old Ukrainian chess grandmaster Vasyl Ivanchuk to participate in the 2023 World Cup. Despite the fact that Ivanchuk received a wild card from FIDE.

Gutzeit denied this, calling it a provocation and accused Russia of "rocking things out of balance", since FIDE is headed by Russian Arkady Dvorkovich.