Ex-Ukrainian criminal investigations chief appointed head of Odesa regional police
Police Gen. 3rd Rank Dmytro Holovin has been appointed head of the Ukrainian National Police department in the Odesa region, the National Police press service has said.
"Dmytro Holovin is an experienced specialist having a solid record of operational work in different regions of the country," Deputy Interior Minister Serhiy Yarovy said while introducing Holovin to the chiefs of structural and territorial divisions of the regional police department.
Before this appointment, Holovin headed the National Police's criminal investigations department.
Holovin has served in the Ukrainian police since 1996. He earlier headed the Kyiv regional criminal investigations department, temporarily performed the duties of Kyiv regional police chief and also served in different positions in the Odesa regional law enforcement bodies.
It was reported on November 7 that head of the Ukrainian National Police department in the Odesa region Georgi Lortkipanidze had resigned.
Lortkipanidze explained his decision, among other things, by a shortage of qualified personnel in the department. He said the regional police department's personnel had been cut by 40% in the course of an optimization campaign.
It was reported earlier that Interior Minister Arsen Avakov had introduced Lortkipanidze, a former Georgian deputy interior minister, to the personnel of the-then Ukrainian Interior Ministry's department in the Odesa region as its chief in June 2016.
Shortly before the appointment, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko granted Ukrainian citizenship to Lortkipanidze.
It was reported on Thursday morning that Poroshenko had signed a decree on relieving Mikheil Saakashvili of his duties as head of the Odesa regional administration.
Saakashvili announced on November 7 that he was stepping down as Odesa regional administration head. In explaining his decision, Saakashvili said he was tired of systematic deceit and corruption, including among the top-ranking officials in Kyiv. The Ukrainian Cabinet of ministers endorsed Saakashvili's resignation on November 9.
