What did Kyiv's dismissal decision mean in September 2019?

What happened on 4 September 2019, and why did it matter for Kyiv? On that day the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine decided to dismiss Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, from his post as head of the Kyiv City State Administration.

The decision concerned one of two roles held by the same man. He remained mayor of Kyiv, while the Cabinet's decision removed him from the administrative post that sat alongside it.

The move came a day after the Verkhovna Rada approved, on 3 September 2019, a bill providing for the removal of immunity from people's deputies.

Two decisions in two days

The two decisions were separate: one concerned a single official in the capital, the other the legal protection of lawmakers. Together they marked two days of notable decisions by Ukraine's central institutions.

The Cabinet's step was an act of the executive, while the Rada's vote was a legislative one. Both were taken within 24 hours of each other.