Ukraine's prime minister, Volodymyr Groysman, has announced his resignation in a largely symbolic protest against the new president's disbanding of parliament.

Groysman will officially leave office on Wednesday, he said, inviting President Volodymyr Zelensky to take full responsibility for the country.

"I have made a decision to resign after holding the government's next meeting on Wednesday," he said at a reporters' briefing in Kiev on Monday.

He will continue to serve as acting prime minister until a new government is formed following forthcoming elections.

"President Zelensky took charge of all future challenges by his call for the government's resignation," said Groysman.

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Zelensky, who won last month's presidential poll with 73 percent of the vote, was inaugurated as president on Monday morning, and promptly disbanded the parliament in a move to spark fresh elections while his movement is riding high.

The fresh elections are expected within the next two months. </s> KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine’s Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said he would step down after the next government meeting on Wednesday and that he would take part in the upcoming parliamentary election.

Groysman spoke after the newly-sworn in President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced earlier that he was dissolving parliament in preparation for a snap election after two months.

“I made a decision for myself to resign on Wednesday after the next government meeting,” he said in a televised statement. </s> Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman has decided to resign after the Cabinet of Ministers’ meeting on May 22.

Groysman announced this at a news briefing, the Ukrainian News Agency reports.

"The president of Ukraine was sworn in today. During his inaugural speech, he said that the government should resign. I think you all understand that the government resigns when a new parliament is elected and not when a new president is elected. That notwithstanding, I have decided for myself to resign immediately after the next government meeting on Wednesday," he said.

The prime minister listed the main achievements of his Cabinet of Ministers and said that he was not ashamed of his work.

Groysman’s government was appointed in April 2016, and it was in office for more than three years.

According to the law, the entire Cabinet of Ministers resigns when the prime minister resigns, but the Cabinet of Ministers will continue performing its functions until a new government takes office.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, Zelenskyi took the oath of office on Monday, becoming the sixth president of Ukraine.

He called on the Cabinet of Ministers to resign and announced that he would dissolve the parliament.

Foreign Affairs Minister Pavlo Klimkin and Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak, who were appointed to the Cabinet of Ministers as part of the presidential quota, have resigned. </s> KIEV, Ukraine - The Latest on Ukrainian politics (all times local): A party that was part of a ruling coalition in Ukraine has criticized the newly sworn president’s decision to disband parliament and call snap elections. Ukrainian television star Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he would disband the legislature immediately after being sworn in as president Monday, castigating the current lawmakers as people focused on self-enrichment. The People’s Front party that was part of the ruling coalition and withdrew from it last week in a manoeuvr intended to make it more difficult for Zelenskiy to disband parliament, criticized Zelenskiy’s move as unlawful but said it was ready for early elections.

It charged that Zelenskiy hopes to ride the wave of his electoral success to control parliament. Once Zelenskiy signs a decree disbanding parliament, a snap election will be held within two months.

Ukraine’s prime minister says he will resign in a largely symbolic move that comes hours after the newly-sworn President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s decision to disband the parliament and call snap elections. Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said he would resign Wednesday, inviting Zelenskiy to take full responsibility for the country. His resignation needs to be approved by parliament. If it accepts Groysman’s resignation, he will still serve as acting prime minister until lawmakers name a new Cabinet after the elections.

Zelenskiy, who won 73% of the vote last month, needs a quick vote to replace the old legislature dominated by his predecessor’s supporters. His political party has been leading the field by a broad margin. Once Zelenskiy issues a decree formally disbanding the parliament, the snap election will be held within two months. The Kremlin has voiced hope that the newly sworn Ukrainian president will help normalize ties with Russia.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russian President Vladimir Putin doesn’t plan to send congratulations to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy following his official swearing-in earlier. Peskov said Putin would only congratulate Zelenskiy on the “first successes” in settling the conflict in eastern Ukraine and normalizing relations with Russia. Relations between the two countries have been strained ever since Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimea in 2014 and the subsequent separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine. Asked if Russia could meet Zelenskiy’s demand to release Ukrainian prisoners, Peskov told reporters that Moscow is willing to continue talks on the issue. Ukrainian television star Volodymyr Zelenskiy has been sworn in as president and immediately disbanded the Ukrainian parliament. Disbanding the Supreme Rada was one of his campaign promises, for Zelenskiy had branded the body as a group of people only interested in self-enrichment. Before he made the announcement, Zelenskiy asked the parliament to adopt a bill against illegal enrichment and support his motion to fire the country’s defence minister, the head of the Ukrainian Security Service and the Prosecutor General. All of them are allies of former President Petro Poroshenko, who lost the presidential election in a landslide to the comedian who had no previous political experience. In a feisty speech after his inauguration, Zelenskiy told the Rada that his main goal for the presidency is to bring peace to eastern Ukraine, where government troops have been fighting Russia-backed separatists for five years. Ukrainian television star Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Monday disbanded the parliament after he was sworn in as new president. Disbanding the Supreme Rada was one of the campaign promises of Zelenskiy who branded it as a group of people only interested in self-enrichment. Before he made the announcement, Zelenskiy asked the parliament to adopt a bill against illegal enrichment and support his motion to fire the country’s defence minister, the head of the Ukrainian Security Service and the Prosecutor General. All of them are allies of Petro Poroshenko who lost the election to the comedian with no previous political experience. In a feisty speech after his inauguration, Zelenskiy told the Rada that his main goal for the presidency is to bring peace to eastern Ukraine where government troops have been fighting Russia-backed separatists for five years. “I’m ready to do everything so that our heroes don’t die there,” he said. “I’m ready to lose my popularly and, if necessary, I’m ready to lose my post so that we have peace.” Zelenskiy ditched the idea of a traditional motorcade and walked to the parliament through a park packed with people. Flanked by four bodyguards, he was giving high-fives to some of the spectators and even stopped to take a selfie with one of them. 41-year-old Zelenskiy garnered 73 per cent of the vote at the presidential election last month in a victory that reflected Ukrainians’ exhaustion with politics-as-usual. Rumours about Zelenskiy’s potential bid first surfaced when he played the Ukrainian president in a television show several years earlier. Zelenskiy wrapped up his speech at parliament by referring to his career as a comedian. “Throughout all of my life I tried to do everything to make Ukrainians laugh,” he said with a smile. “In the next five years I will do everything so that Ukrainians don’t cry.” </s> Volodymyr Fesenko, head of the Kyiv-based think-tank Penta, said Zelenskiy's announcement shows "political will for radical change."

"The legally dubious decision to disband parliament will certainly be contested in court, but Zelenskiy has shown that it is going to be him who will lay down the agenda and that he will dominate the political landscape," he said.

Zelenskiy's landslide victory reflected Ukrainians' exhaustion with widespread corruption and the country's political elite. Before disbanding parliament, the 41-year-old Zelenskiy upended other Ukrainian political traditions on inauguration day.

He ditched the idea of a traditional motorcade to his inauguration, walking to the parliament in Kyiv through a park packed with people. Flanked by four bodyguards, the beaming president-elect gave high-fives to some spectators, even stopping to take a selfie with one of them.

At the end of his swearing-in ceremony, Zelenskiy asked the Supreme Rada to adopt a bill against illegal enrichment and support his motions to fire the country's defence minister, the head of the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) and the Prosecutor General. All are allies of Zelenskiy's predecessor, Petro Poroshenko.

That's when he dropped his bombshell about dissolving parliament. Zelenskiy told lawmakers they only have a few weeks to support his motions, as that's as long as the current parliament has.

Two of the three officials he has asked to leave, Defence Minister Stepan Poltorak and SBU chief Vasyl Grytsak, promptly handed in their resignations.

Later, Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said he would resign Wednesday. That move would be largely symbolic because it would have to be approved by the parliament. If accepted, he would remain as acting prime minister until after the elections.

Zelenskiy also told the Rada that the main goal for the presidency is to bring peace to eastern Ukraine, where government troops have been fighting Russia-backed separatists for five years in a conflict that has left at least 13,000 dead.

"I'm ready to do everything so that our heroes don't die there," he said. "It wasn't us who started that war. But we need to be the one to finish it."

The new president wrapped up his speech at parliament by referring to his career as a comedian.

"Throughout all of my life, I tried to do everything to make Ukrainians laugh," he said with a smile. "In the next five years I will do everything, Ukrainians, so that you don't cry." </s> KIEV, May 20 — Volodymyr Zelensky, a 41-year-old comedian who took office as Ukraine’s president today, announced the dissolution of parliament in his inaugural speech in order to hold early elections.

“I dissolve the Verkhovna Rada of the eighth convocation,” the newly sworn-in president said during the ceremony in parliament in Kiev.

The next parliamentary polls had been scheduled for October.

Zelensky does not command majority support in the current parliament and has wrangled with hostile lawmakers whom he accused of deliberately delaying his inauguration and called “petty crooks.”

Ahead of his inauguration, Zelensky had already threatened to launch the highly complex process of dissolving parliament and calling new elections in order to benefit from his current popularity.

His team said in a statement on Friday that the country needs “a parliament that functions.” — AFP </s> Volodymyr Zelenskiy is sworn in as Ukrainian president, immediately disbands the Ukrainian parliament

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Volodymyr Zelenskiy is sworn in as Ukrainian president, immediately disbands the Ukrainian parliament. </s> By The Associated Press

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Volodymyr Zelenskiy is sworn in as Ukrainian president, immediately disbands the Ukrainian parliament.

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Volodymyr Zelenskiy is sworn in as Ukrainian president, immediately disbands the Ukrainian parliament.

Copyright © 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed. </s> KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — The Latest on Ukraine's politics (all times local):

Ukraine's new president has signed a decree dissolving the parliament and calling a snap election in two months.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced his intention to disband the legislature minutes after being sworn in Monday. His decree dissolving the Verkhovna Rada and setting early elections for July 21 was posted on the presidential website Tuesday.

The current parliament is dominated by allies of former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, and Zelenskiy hopes to ride the wave of his electoral success to get his supporters into parliament.

An adviser to the new Ukrainian president says that he will sign a decree formally dissolving the parliament and calling snap elections within days.

Andriy Bohdan, adviser to Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said in televised remarks Tuesday that the president would send the decree in the coming days. He said he hopes that parliament would vote for changes to the electoral law before it is disbanded.

Moments after he was sworn into office, Zelenskiy dropped a bombshell when he said he is dissolving the parliament, dominated by allies of the former Ukrainian president. Zelenskiy sat down with political leaders Tuesday morning to discuss the dissolution.

Bohdan said the meeting with the lawmakers showed that they would be willing to adopt the electoral changes Zelenskiy has proposed.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman announces he will resign Wednesday in response to the new president's disbanding of parliament.