Ukrainian Agriculture Minister Resigns: Aides
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Ukrainian Agriculture Minister Roman Leshchenko resigned on Thursday, an aide told Reuters, without giving a reason.
The source, who did not want to be identified, said parliament will vote on whether to accept the resignation as soon as Thursday.
Mykola Solskyi, a senior legislator, told Reuters on Thursday that he had decided to accept an offer to become Ukraine’s agricultural minister.
Leshchenko’s resignation was reported earlier on Thursday by the APK-Inform consultancy, four weeks after Russia attacked Ukraine, sparking a crisis that has hampered spring crop planting and Ukraine’s capacity to export agricultural products.
Leshchenko told Reuters this week that Ukraine’s spring crop sowing area might more than half this year from 2021 levels to about 7 million hectares, compared to the 15 million hectares projected before to the Russian operation.
Ukraine is a key worldwide agricultural producer and exporter, and the conflict might significantly impact the 2022 crop and exports in the next 2022/23 season.
