The Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine (PGO) has renewed the investigation into MP Serhiy Kivalov, Head of Odesa Regional State Administration Ihor Palytsia has said.

"Today, on March 18, Ihor Palytsia, Head of Odesa Regional State Service, was summoned as a witness to the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine, due to the renewal of actions under his appeal. As a reminder: on August 26, 2014, the Head of Odesa Regional State Administration told the Prosecutor General of Ukraine about the crime committed by MP Serhiy Kivalov under Article 110 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine," reads the statement issued by the administration's press service.

According to the press service, in February 2014, before Crimea had been annexed and the active phase of the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) had began in Ukraine, "2000" weakly published an article by Kivalov entitled "It's Time to Prepare a Constitution for Odesa Region."

"The article was posted on the weekly's official website and was widely spread by national and local media and websites. In the above mentioned article, Kivalov... after a rather free interpretation of historic facts, called on citizens to take action to change the borders of the territory [of Odesa region] and the state borders of Ukraine," the press service said.

Palytsia asked the PGO to investigate Kivalov's actions and to find out if they constituted public calls to violate Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty, to fund actions with the goal of violently changing or overthrowing the constitutional order, to take over the government, and to change the borders of Ukraine's territories or national borders.

The press service said that since August 2014, "there have only been replies with no real answers."

"Only now, when the PGO has been headed by Viktor Shokin has the investigation canceled by former Prosecutor General Vitaliy Yarema been renewed. The renewal of the case gives hope for an adequate legal assessment of MP Kivalov's actions, who had planned for the same reality in Odesa as the one that had come to Donetsk and Luhansk. Two weeks before [former president of Ukraine Viktor] Yanukovych's escape, he had posted a detailed plan and instructions on taking power in Odesa and to create a sort of autonomy oriented on the occupation of our city by Russia," the press service said.