The final plenary week of March has effectively collapsed as Tuesday's session was canceled due to a lack of votes, and he sees no prospect of meaningful legislative action on Wednesday or Thursday, March 25-26.
"During all this time, no one has even tried to solve the problem," the lawmaker said in a Telegram post.
“There has been no communication from the government or any attempt by the president to gather the parliamentary faction to coordinate action. There is currently no plan or strategy for how to get out of this situation.”
Zhelezhnyak also said he sees no prospect of a rapid turnaround, as a political crisis within the ruling majority deepens. In his assessment, members of the Servant of the People faction no longer feel obligated to the president, see no political future for themselves in the government's new initiatives, and are increasingly critical of what he called the current government’s ineffectiveness.
Verkhovna Rada Finance Committee chairman Danylo Hetmantsev said he met with IMF representatives on March 23 to discuss Ukraine's failure to meet the structural benchmarks required under its new financing program.
"We spoke at length. The conversation was not easy, as the situation is extremely difficult," Hetmantsev wrote.
“A collapse of the IMF program — and we are closer to it than ever — would mean financial catastrophe. We ultimately reached the predictable conclusion: no initiative can be discussed, votes gathered or voted on in parliament while it is not before parliament. Even if the initiative is aimed at fulfilling the IMF program. We are waiting for the relevant bill from the government.”
Ukraine's Finance Ministry published a major tax bill on March 20 containing measures including mandatory VAT registration for simplified-tax-regime businesses earning more than 4 million hryvnias ($91,241) annually, taxation of imported parcels valued under 150 euros ($175), extension of the 5% military levy beyond the end of the war, and introduction of automatic international exchange of income information from digital platforms.
Under the terms of the new $8.1 billion Extended Fund Facility program approved in late February, Ukraine is required to adopt the tax package by the end of March 2026.
In April 2025, Ukraine missed three IMF program beacons.