Ukrainian Prime Minister Honcharuk resigns

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Ukrainian Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk said on Friday morning that he had resigned.

This decision comes days after Honcharuk was caught on tape saying that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky knows nothing about the economy.

"To remove any doubts about my respect and trust in the president, I have written a resignation letter and sent it to Zelensky," Honcharuk wrote on his Facebook page.

Earlier this week, an audio recording emerged in which Honcharuk said Zelensky does not understand the economy.

In his post, Honcharuk described Zelensky as "a man to whom Ukrainians have expressed unprecedented trust" and said he was proud of his government's record, writing: "In a few months, we have achieved a lot."

AFP reported that his resignation was confirmed by the Ukrainian presidential office.

Honcharuk said the recording was a compilation of "fragments of recorded government meetings" and accused unidentified "influential groups" of creating the impression that he did not respect the president.

"It is not true," the prime minister insisted.

On Thursday, lawmakers from the opposition party Opposition Platform - For Life called for the prime minister's resignation, saying he and his cabinet had discredited the president and worsened the country's economic crisis. Members of the ruling Servant of the People party said there was no reason for Honcharuk to resign.

The Ukrainian parliament, the Rada, must vote on whether to accept the prime minister's resignation.

Iryna Heraschchenko, a Rada lawmaker, told the Associated Press that Honcharuk should have submitted his resignation to Parliament, not the president. Otherwise, she said, it has no legal consequences and is just "private political correspondence."