Budget in limbo, government under fire: Rada session derailed by Midas revelations

Ukraine’s parliament has entered a sharp political standoff after revelations from the “Midas” corruption scandal derailed the opening of the new plenary session and stalled the adoption of the 2026 state budget, a key condition for international financial support.

The first plenary session of the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada lasted barely half an hour before collapsing into shouts of “Government – down!”. MPs from European Solidarity of former president Petro Poroshenko blocked the rostrum, demanding the resignation of the government in the wake of revelations from the NABU “Midas” operation, which exposed corruption among senior officials and triggered several high-profile departures.

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Even without the opposition’s escalation, the parliament has entered a political crisis openly acknowledged from the rostrum by members of ruling party Servant of the People. Frustrations over ministerial performance, the 2026 draft State Budget and the broader question of the parliament’s own powers have converged into the most serious internal breakdown seen in months.

For years, MPs have complained that the legislature has been reduced largely to approving decisions drafted in the President’s Office. The summer attempt, driven through parliament, to curb the independence of NABU and SAPO became a turning point, shocking many previously loyal members of the ruling party. At the time, deputies described the internal atmosphere as “a compressed spring”.

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The Midas scandal having made its effect, MPs are pushing for greater influence.

At the centre of the standoff lies the still-unadopted 2026 budget. Deputies from Servant of the People have raised objections to individual budget lines and to specific officials responsible for implementation, arguing that several figures associated with the Midas scandal must go. The adoption of the budget, however, is a prerequisite for tens of billions in international assistance, and the IMF had expected its passage by 2 December.

The opposition’s demands go even further, but the ruling party’s revolt alone has proved enough to stall the process.

When the Rada adopted the budget in first reading on 22 October, the vote passed easily with 256 votes. A month and a half later, that consensus has evaporated. Two developments lie behind the shift: the reputational damage from the Midas scandal and the resignation of Andriy Yermak as head of the President’s Office.

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Economist Oleksandra Myronenko of the Center for Economic Strategy notes that the draft budget resembles previous wartime budgets, except for a significant pay rise for teachers, which drives a 30 percent increase in education spending. This item has become the most contentious point, with MPs seeking clarity on funding sources and procedures. Other concerns raised at a recent meeting with the Cabinet include military salaries, the closure of the National Cashback programme, and reducing spending on the state telethon.

But according to a senior Servant of the People figure, the budget has become a “hostage” used by MPs to pressure the government and the President’s Office. Their demands include the dismissal of several officials viewed as close to Yermak, among them Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba, the head of the State Financial Monitoring Service Philip Pronin, and the heads of the Odesa and Lviv regional military administrations, Oleh Kiper and Maksym Kozytsky. Some deputies have even raised the prospect of rebooting the State Bureau of Investigation.

The crisis within the monomajority has been building since July, when the Rada voted to weaken anti-corruption bodies – an initiative that many deputies say originated from the President’s Office. Revelations about alleged pressure on the anti-corruption agencies, later amplified by the publication of the Mindich tapes, deepened discontent.

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Only after the anti-corruption agencies searched Yermak’s premises did President Zelenskyy dismiss him – a decision met with relief among ruling-party MPs, though described as overdue.

The Prime Minister’s unusually active engagement with the faction underscores the government’s vulnerability. With the budget linked to the $8 billion IMF programme, delays carry significant financial risk.

Yet MPs insist the crisis reflects a deeper shift: the parliament is rediscovering its own agency. As one ruling-party deputy put it, after years of being “pressed”, the Rada is beginning to assert its subjectivity once again.