Ukraine, Kiev / corr Trend Z.Novocvitskiy / Viktor Yushenko, the President of Ukraine signed decrees to approve the decision by the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, dated 4 September, to dismiss Nikolay Rudkovskiy, the Transport and Communications Minister and Nestor Shufrich, the Emergency Situations Minister. The decrees were placed on the Ukrainian President's website.
On 4 September, the National Security and Defense Council made a decision to release Nikolay Rudkovskiy, the Transport and Communications Minister, and Nestor Shufrich, the Emergency Situations Minister.
The Ukrainian President explained his decision by stating the ministers' serious failure of competence. "Rudkovskiy did not make effective decisions to improve the security in railways, and Shufrich did not respond to natural disasters, which affected most regions of Ukraine," said Yushenko.