On 7 October, the Verkhovna Rada (the lower house of parliament) of Ukraine voted to dismiss Dmytro Razumkov as its speaker. 215 deputies from the ruling Servant of the People party voted in favour of the resignation, as did 20 from Batkivshchyna, 19 from For the Future, 18 from Trust, 6 from Voice and 6 non-party deputies. Ruslan Stefanchuk, the former deputy speaker, was appointed the next day in his place. Razumkov was one of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s closest associates at the beginning of his political career.