In its first 500 days the Ukrainian government has plunged the country into a war and an economic and social collapse; this government must step down, Opposition Bloc parliamentarian Yevhen Murayev said.

"Five hundred days were enough for the government of [Prime Minister Arseniy] Yatseniuk to lead this country into a complete disaster. Throughout its entire history of independence Ukraine has not seen a period where its people would lose everything: the right to work and social protection, the right to democracy and the freedom of speech and even the right to life. […] The 500 days of ruling by the current government resulted in the loss of Crimea and a part of Donbas, the country is being ruined by the war that claimed tens of thousands of Ukrainian lives and forced millions to leave their homes," the Opposition Bloc spokesperson quoted the parliamentarian as saying.

He said that in the 500 days of this Cabinet the country has seen a triple-fold fall in living standards and a rise in prices of food, clothes, medications and utilities.

"Thanks to the 'efforts' by the current authorities, hundreds of enterprises closed and tens of thousands of people were left out in the street. As a result of their 'care' for the people, salaries and pensions have not increased for almost a year and a half now (and for many, they have either dropped or not been paid at all), child benefits were cut, and benefits for Chernobyl victims, the disabled, Afghan war veterans, children of war and people of hazardous and difficult occupations were scrapped," the parliamentarian said.

Murayev also said: "Destruction of our country and the genocide of our people - such were the first 500 days of the current government, and one dreads to think what will happen to this country if it stays on for another 500 days."

The Opposition Bloc believes this should not be allowed to happen, and demands the resignation of the Yatseniuk government. "Ukraine should be given into the hands of those who will be able to stop its destruction, renew its economic growth and improve the lives of ordinary people," Murayev said.