Mikheil Saakashvili -- a former Georgian president who fought a brief 2008 war with Russia and currently serves as governor of Ukraine's historic Odessa region -- said he spoke to Abromavicius on Tuesday and knew that something was wrong.

"Aivaras and I both work on the council of state enterprise reforms," Saakashvili wrote on Facebook.

"And I would like to confirm that all our initiatives aimed at changing the leaders of state enterprises are being blocked personally by the prime minister at the suggestion of Igor Kononenko," he claimed.

Kononenko is deputy head of Poroshenko's parliamentary faction and known in the Ukrainian media as a "grey cardinal" who implements the president's political will.

His alleged ties to the prime minister underscore the complexities of Ukraine's shaky ruling elite.

Yatseniuk himself accused the economy minister of "running from the field of battle" and falling under the influence of those "who want to bring back the past.” (afp/ez)