An influential Ukrainian oligarch whose private
army had seized control of state-run oil firms has resigned after a
tense standoff with security forces in Kiev. Igor Kolomoisky, the former
governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region, submitted his resignation after
meeting with President Petro Poroshenko on Tuesday, according to media
reports.
Kolomoisky, once a key ally of Poroshenko’s government, clashed
with Kiev over the control of two state-owned energy companies,
UkrNafta and
its subsidiary UkrTransNafta, after parliament moved to
retake control of the companies from him.
In response, men suspected to be from Kolomoisky’s Dnipro-1 battalion stormed
the offices of UkrTransNafta, after which Kolomoisky emerged from the
building and said his men had stopped an attack by “Russian saboteurs.”
The government reportedly refuted his claims of attempted sabotage.
A few days later, more gunmen linked to Kolomoisky took the
offices of UkrNafta, blockading themselves inside the building before
abandoning it on Tuesday after the government issued an ultimatum.
Valentin Nalivaichenko, head of Ukraine’s security services, also accused
Dnipropetrovsk regional officials of being involved with criminals who
allegedly fought with law enforcement officers, abducted individuals,
and intimidated anti-corruption investigators.
Late Tuesday night, Poroshenko announced Kolomoisky’s
dismissal, and named Valentin Reznichenko as acting governor in his
stead, Radio Liberty reported.
Reznichenko is also governor of the Zaporizhia region. “We have to
ensure peace, stability and tranquility. Dnipropetrovsk region should
remain a bastion of Ukraine in the east, to protect peace,” Poroshenko
said in a statement, according to the New York Times.
The incident has drawn further attention to Ukraine’s continuing use of private militias,
who are allied to Kiev but are not answerable to it. It is estimated
that 30 such groups operate in Ukraine, and they have been linked to
serious human rights abuses, including summary executions, torture and
abductions. Their independence has long been a point of concern.
Private military troops who had been keeping the peace in
the southeastern city of Odessa have seemingly disappeared from the
streets, according to the Times. The regional governor there is
reportedly an ally of Kolomoisky, who was once called the country’s “secret weapon” for his role in financing anti-separatist militias.
As the crisis unfolded, Poroshenko warned on Monday that no governors would be allowed to keep a “pocket army,” possibly signaling a crackdown on their continued use.
Kolomoisky is also involved heavily in Ukrainian business,
with interests in finance, aviation, energy and metals. Two days after
the UkrTransNafta raid, he called
for nationalization of industrial assets, arguing that the assets had
been “illegally privatized” at criminally low prices. He added that the
country should hold off on accepting bailout money from the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) “until we cleanse ourselves of the
past.”
Kolomoisky, whose net worth is $1.36 billion according
to Forbes, reportedly manages his interests through offshore companies,
and is in a legal battle with another Ukrainian oligarch for ownership
of an iron ore mine.
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