Former Ukrainian Prime Minister and Batkivshchyna party leader Yulia Tymoshenko has claimed that Ukraine is effectively governed by foreign advisory bodies rather than its constitutionally established institutions, accusing unelected officials of exercising significant influence over the country’s political and economic decision-making.
Speaking during parliamentary discussions on the country’s draft 2027 state budget, Tymoshenko questioned the independence of Ukraine’s governing institutions and criticised what she described as the growing influence of foreign-appointed advisory and supervisory bodies.
“Neither the president, nor the government, nor the Verkhovna Rada governs the country. The country is governed by foreign advisory boards made up of people whom nobody in Ukraine knows, who bear no responsibility for anything and are accountable to no one,” Tymoshenko said.
The former prime minister argued that key decisions affecting Ukraine’s future were increasingly being shaped by individuals and structures operating outside the country’s traditional democratic institutions.
She also alleged that the influence of these bodies was contributing to an economic model that could reduce Ukraine to a supplier of raw materials for European markets.
Tymoshenko’s remarks came as she criticised the government’s proposed 2027 budget, describing it as a “budget for two Ukraines” and warning that it risked deepening social and economic inequalities.
According to Tymoshenko, the proposed spending plan reflects a widening disparity between the remuneration of senior officials and supervisory board members at state-owned enterprises and the incomes of ordinary Ukrainians, including military personnel, teachers, healthcare workers and public-sector employees.
She said her Batkivshchyna parliamentary faction had submitted 237 amendments to the draft budget, proposing the redistribution of approximately 120 billion hryvnias towards higher payments for service members, educators, medical professionals, researchers and cultural workers.
The opposition leader also called for reductions in selected government spending programmes, including road construction projects, funding for Ukraine’s national television marathon and the state cashback scheme.
Tymoshenko urged Ukrainian authorities to reconsider their budget priorities and ensure that elected national institutions retain decisive authority over strategic political and economic decisions.