Zhebrivskiy resigns as Donetsk regional administration head

Pavlo Zhebrivskiy, the head of the Donetsk regional administration,
announced on June 11 that he submitted his resignation to President Petro
Poroshenko two days earlier. Zhebrivskiy was appointed to the position in June
2015. “Together we proved to the whole world that Donetsk region is Ukraine!,”
he wrote on his Facebook page. He didn’t comment on why he submitted his
resignation.

Zenon Zawada: Zhebrivskiy
could be resigning for a number of reasons. His responsibilities could have
changed as a result of the transition to the Joint Forces Operation from the
Anti-Terrorist Operation. Poroshenko could have also requested his help for the
2019 presidential election campaign.

As we wrote on Friday, experts close to the government have mentioned
the possibility of a Russian offensive to capture a strategic Donetsk city in
order to – among other things – ruin Poroshenko’s chances of re-election ahead
of the March 2019 presidential vote. Zhebrivskiy could be anticipating an
expanded Russian military aggression this fall or winter and doesn’t want to be
responsible when conditions turn worse in the Ukrainian-controlled territory of
Donetsk.