Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi on Tuesday fired three regional governors, including the head of the Luhansk region, Serhii Gaidai, Reuters reports.

Serhii Gaidai was dismissed from the post of the head of the Luhansk regionPhoto: David Goldman/AP/Profimedia

The reasons for their dismissal, as announced on the Telegram messaging application by a government representative in parliament, were not specified.

The governor of the Luhansk region, Serhiy Gaidai, has repeatedly commented on the fighting in his region in the north-east of the country, which borders Russia. The Ukrainian press, in particular “Ukrainian Pravda”, wrote that he would be appointed ambassador to Kazakhstan.

“Ukrainian Pravda” writes that rumors about Gaidai’s dismissal have been in the public domain since January 2023.

Zelensky also fired the governor of the Odesa region, Maksym Marchenko, and the head of the Khmelnytskyi Regional State Administration, Serhiy Gamalii.

A wave of dismissals after the corruption scandal

Zelensky, sensitive to Western accusations of widespread corruption in Ukrainian society, fired several high-ranking officials this year. Five governors were dismissed or left their positions.

Subsequently, five regional prosecutors were also dismissed.

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, which is headed by Oleksiy Reznikov, is accused of purchasing products for the military at prices that are two to three times higher than prices in Kyiv grocery stores.

Ex-Deputy Minister of Defense Vyacheslav Shapovalov, who was released due to a corruption scandal and is currently in a pre-trial detention center, denies his guilt.

Shapovalov was accused of lobbying for food contracts for the military at inflated prices. According to the report, he is also suspected of purchasing bulletproof vests, helmets and poor-quality clothing for the military worth more than UAH 1 billion ($27.2 million).

Martsenko was appointed the head of the Odesa Regional State Administration in March 2022, he is a colonel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In 2015-2017, Martsenko was the commander of the 24th separate amphibious assault battalion “Aidar”, then he commanded the 28th mechanized brigade.

Serhii Gamalii was appointed the head of the Khmelnytskyi Regional State Administration on December 3, 2020. He came to this position from a business environment, in the fields of transport and restaurant business. Before his appointment, he had never worked in government bodies and was not involved in politics.

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