Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said that Head of Mykolaiv Regional State Administration Vadym Merikov has tendered his resignation.

"Corrupt officials will be put in prison. That is my principled position. These will apply not only to those who take bribes, but also to those who allow or do not respond to flagrant instances of corruption. There should be not only criminal, but also political responsibility. Yesterday, I had a meeting with Head of Mykolaiv Regional State Administration Vadym Merikov and, despite certain achievements, the work with the ATO [anti-terrorist operation] and other things, after the conversation with me Vadym Merikov wrote a letter of resignation from the post of the head of the regional state administration. This is his political responsibility. I emphasize that this is not the end," he said during a visit to Mykolaiv region on Wednesday answering a question from Interfax-Ukraine.

Poroshenko recalled the situation with First Deputy Head of Mykolaiv Regional State Administration Mykola Romanchuk.

"It only happened once before that a deputy governor was arrested in Ukraine. If memory serves me right, this happened in Rivne region as the result of the efforts of a new governor. Unfortunately, this did not happen in Mykolaiv region," he said adding that only thanks to the efforts of prosecutors and law-enforcers from Kyiv this case of corruption in Mykolaiv was exposed.

Merikov has led Mykolaiv Regional Administration since late July, 2014.

As reported, on June 3, 2016, First Deputy Head of Mykolaiv Regional State Administration Mykola Romanchuk and three other officials were detained on suspicion of taking a $90,000 bribe.

Criminal proceedings into bribe taking, during which Romanchuk was detained, are investigated under Part 4, Article 368 (acceptance of a proposal, promise or obtaining improper advantage by official) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

On June 8, Odesa Prymorsky District Court ordered Romanchuk arrested for two months pending release on UAH 5.5 million bail.