Leaders rebel against new president

Ukrainian party leaders have rebelled against the new president’s decision to disband parliament and ignored his call to amend the election law.

Parliamentary leaders met Volodymyr Zelenskiy and had publicly backed his plans to hold early elections under new rules.

But in a surprising turnaround, parliament speaker Andriy Parubiy told MPS that Mr Zelenskiy’s decree to call snap elections runs against the law.

Parliament also declined to even discuss Mr Zelenskiy’s amendments aimed at making elections more transparent.

Mr Zelenskiy formally ordered Ukraine’s parliament to dissolve, saying that it lacks public trust.

He has called for electing the new parliament entirely on party lists, arguing the current election system foments corruption.

His top campaign pledge was to bring peace to eastern Ukraine, where government troops have been fighting Russia-backed separatists for five years in a conflict that has left at least 13,000 dead.