Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on Thursday that he has appointed Pavlo Zhebrivsky the new head of Donetsk Regional Military-Civilian Administration.

The head of state introduced Zhebrivsky to Donetsk officials in Mariupol on Thursday, an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent reported.

"The war notwithstanding, we need to improve civilian life and conduct reforms, we need to restore power. And today I would like to introduce the new head of the Donetsk regional administration, Pavlo Ivanovych Zhebrivsky," Poroshenko said.

He said he has known Zhebrivsky for 15 years and trusts him a lot.

The president thanked the current Donetsk regional governor, Oleksandr Kikhtenko, for his work and said: "I offered General Kikhtenko to take up another demanding job but he will be beside me and will be helping Pavlo Ivanovych and take care of issues, including those of the Donetsk region."

The appointment decrees have yet to be posted on the president's website.

On January 19, 2015, Zhebrivsky took up a job at the Ukrainian Prosecutor's General Office as the chief investigator of corruption crimes committed by high-ranking officials.