Deputy head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security and Defense, MP from "Servant of the People" Maryana Bezugla announced her resignation from the party, faction and position in the committee. She made this decision after several scandals and conflicts, in particular regarding her statements regarding the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny.
"I don't need a weak faction and a war party," the deputy admitted in her official statement on January 10. She also expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that she does not want to receive the "quota of the deputy chairman of the committee".
Bezugla accused her colleagues of "sticking a knife in the back". Even though on January 10, the majority could not hold a vote on recalling her from her position in the defense committee.
She accused her fellow party members of "silence of problems" and accused Oleksandr Zavitnevich, head of the defense committee, who is a member of President Zelenskyi's family, of "treason".
Zavitnevich refused to comment on the situation, considering Bezugla's statements as "fake manipulations".
Maryana Bezugla, born on May 17, 1988 in Kyiv, representative of "Servant of the People", announced her resignation from the party, faction and position in the committee on national security and defense. Her father, Volodymyr Oleksiiovych Bezugliy, is the founder of several enterprises, including the Granit plant and a charitable foundation.
Maryana was educated at the Bogomolets Medical University and worked in the district polyclinic. In 2015, she was mobilized to the front, and she served as a combat medic in the 128th separate mine-assault brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
After returning to Kyiv in 2016, she worked at the Ministry of Defense, where she participated in the reform of the medical services of the Armed Forces. In 2019, she began her political career by winning the elections in Kyiv Obolon from "Servant of the People".
Appointed as the deputy head of the Committee on National Defense, Security and Intelligence, Bezugla became actively involved in special issues, including the reform of the Security Service of Ukraine and the Wagnergate investigation. The attempt of a special operation with the arrest of 33 mercenaries of the Russian company "Wagner" became the subject of a scandal, and the commission under her leadership did not find an answer to the questions about the leakage of information and the failure of the operation.
During the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Maryana Bezugla came to the public's attention due to several ambiguous cases. Her visits to the front and being at command posts during active hostilities, in particular, during the heavy battles for Severodonetsk and Lysychansk in June of last year, caused a particular controversy.
Despite the criticism and negative reaction from the military and politicians, Bezugla pointed out that her visits to the front were not aimed at interfering with the work of the military. Instead, she claimed that she wanted to study the needs of the military in order to better consider their interests in her parliamentary work.
Starting from the fall of 2023, Bezugla became the figure of a public absentee conflict with the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Valery Zaluzhny, who enjoys a high level of support in Ukrainian society.
Deputy Maryana Bezugla expressed complaints about the quality of war planning for 2024 and the mobilization of citizens to the Armed Forces. At the end of the year, she criticized the head of the Armed Forces for various aspects, such as the "Sovietization" of the Ukrainian army, the insufficiently developed counteroffensive plan, as well as the retention of Pavel Tkachuk, the head of the National Academy of Ground Forces. Such statements provoked a negative reaction from many politicians, the military and society.
Bezugla also accuses the military leadership of covering ineffective generals, in particular, Hero of Ukraine Vasyl Zubanych. This led to demands from opposition deputies for her recall from the National Security Committee. President Zelenskyi said that this is a difficult issue and emphasized the need to pay attention to state affairs, and not to internal conflicts between officials.
Maryana Bezugla, deputy from "Servant of the People", may find herself in a similar situation as former official Oleksiy Arestovych. Once a prominent representative of the president's office, Arestovych suffered a scandal and was fired, after which he radically changed his position and began criticizing Zelenskyi. A similar scenario unfolds with Bezugla, who also became the face and voice of the government, but now publicly criticizes her party, accusing it of "treason".
However, political scientist Volodymyr Fesenko believes that, unlike Arestovych, Bezugla has no political prospects due to the loss of rating due to the conflict with the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces Valery Zaluzhny. Fesenko notes that Bezuglaya's ambitions are reflected in the military sphere and support for President Zelensky.
For the deputy, Zelensky is an authority whom she defends and does not criticize. Fesenko compares this devotion to a bull terrier, ready to "catch and tear anyone" for the owner. Currently, Bezugla is not yet revealing her future plans, promising to continue supporting the president's initiatives, but avoiding details.
Because of the conflict with Zaluzhny, Bezugla decided to leave the "Servant of the People" faction. Her recall from the position of deputy chairman of the defense committee also depends on the decision of the Verkhovna Rada. Party head Olena Shulyak will determine Bezugla's fate in the party structures.
