KYIV. July 28 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Kharkhiv region's Governor Yulia Svitlychna remains the most popular regional head, according to a survey conducted by the Committee of Voters of Ukraine. "If we compare results with 2016, in the first three months of 2017, as well as over the first six months of this year, the leaders and outsiders have remained the same. The top five in our rating are as follows: [the heads of] Kharkiv, Ternopil, Zakarpattia, Kirovohrad and Donetsk regions," Committee of Voters of Ukraine (CVU) General Director Oleksiy Koshel said during presentation of the CVU survey of regional heads over the first six months of 2017. A presentation of results of the survey was held at the Kyiv-based Interfax-Ukraine news agency. Koshel said experts participating in the survey noted initiatives of Svitlychna to raise salaries at industrial enterprises in the region, contacts with foreign partners and efforts of the regional administration to create a positive image by participating in various national and international competitions. From January to May industrial output in Kharkiv region increased by 8.7%. Second place went to Ternopil regional administration chief Stepan Barna, who was credited with increasing road repairs and increasing industrial production. Zakarpattia governor Hennadiy Moskal, who was in 5^th place over the first three months of 2017, took third place. He was credited for adept handling of crisis situations in the region and mitigating conflicts between regional rival groups. Kirovohrad regional governor Serhiy Kuzmenko dropped in the ratings, from third to fourth position. His region leads in construction growth. Rounding out the top five was Donetsk military-civil regional administration chief Pavlo Zhebrivsky, whose handling of the humanitarian crisis in Avdiyivka [following shelling by Russian occupation forces] was widely acclaimed. According to Koshel, 213 experts took part in the CVU survey in all regions of Ukraine.