MP Shevchenko recently traveling to Lukashenko expelled from ruling faction

Yevhen Shevchenko / Photo from UNIAN

Ukrainian Member of Parliament Yevhen Shevchenko, who recently traveled to Belarus where he was accepted by President Alexander Lukashenko, has been expelled from the ruling Servant of the People parliamentary faction.

"Yevhen Shevchenko has been expelled from the Servant of the People faction," member of the faction Vitaliy Bezgin wrote on Facebook on May 24.

Read alsoVisit to Lukashenko: Threats of such "initiatives" by Ukrainian MPsIn comments under the post, Bezgin said Shevchenko "is no longer a member of the party or a member of the faction."

Shevchenko's visit to Minsk

• On April 20, 2021, Shevchenko met with Lukashenko at the Independence Palace in the capital city of Minsk.
• The Servant of the People Party said no one had authorized Shevchenko to negotiate with Lukashenko.
• On April 22, 2021, Shevchenko said he would create his own political project in case of expulsion from the Servant of the People faction.
• On April 26, 2021, Chairman of the Servant of the People faction David Arakhamia said the faction's leaders advocate Shevchenko's expulsion over the meeting with Lukashenko.