Resignations across Kyiv's government on 24 January 2023
A look back at the day senior officials left their posts as a nationwide anti-corruption campaign began in Ukraine.
What did an anti-corruption campaign look like in its first hours? On 24 January 2023, it looked like a wave of departures. Several senior Ukrainian officials resigned as a nationwide drive against corruption was launched.
Among those who left was Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine. Four deputy ministers also resigned, as did five regional governors. The resignations came as the campaign began, as reported at the time.
A day with a wider backdrop
The departures unfolded while the war with Russia remained at the centre of Ukraine's agenda. Two days earlier, on 22 January 2023, German Foreign Affairs Minister Annalena Baerbock said Germany would not prevent Poland from sending Leopard 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine. Ukrainian officials had described those tanks as pivotal to defeating Russian forces.
The two developments were separate. Yet together they marked a moment when Kyiv was pressing its case abroad for heavier weapons while the government at home saw a notable turnover at senior and regional level.
The resignations of a presidential office deputy head, deputy ministers and regional governors on a single day made the launch of the campaign visible in concrete terms: named posts, vacated at once, across both the central administration and the regions.
