Personnel rotations in the Poltava RMA: how the appointment of Yevhen Skyba is linked to the influence groups of Kulinich and Firtash

Personnel rotations in the Poltava RMA: how the appointment of Yevhen Skyba is linked to the influence groups of Kulinich and Firtash

The Fecal Crisis and the Gas Vertical: How the Poltava RMA Is Being Assembled for Firtash and Kulinich’s People

Poltava region, which accounts for about 70% of Ukraine’s gas production, is increasingly turning into a closed zone of influence of a single political-business group. While drivers of sewage trucks are striking in Poltava, roads are being blocked, and the cost of waste removal has nearly doubled, the regional leadership continues to appoint people from the same circle to key positions — linked to Oleh Kulinich, Yuriy Frenkel, and structures of Dmytro Firtash.

Last week, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the appointment of Yevhen Skyba as Deputy Head of the Poltava Regional Military Administration. Formally, he is a former prosecutor, ex-head of the Dykanka District State Administration, and an employee of the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP). According to his declaration, Skyba’s family owns a house in Dykanka, two apartments, a plot of land, a Tesla Model S, and an Audi A3. For 2025, he declared 1.56 million UAH in salary and $10,000 in cash jointly with his wife. However, the main story is not his assets, but his connections.

Skyba ran for mayor of Dykanka from the “Dovira” party of Oleh Kulinich. Kulinich is considered one of the beneficiaries of the appointment of Vitaliy Dyakivnych as head of the RMA. Yevhen Skyba’s father, Ihor Skyba, together with Anatoliy Dyakivnych, the governor’s father, was elected as a deputy to the Dykanka City Council from the same party. In addition, Vitaliy Dyakivnych previously headed the apparatus of the Dykanka District State Administration during the period when it was led by Skyba. In fact, this is an old district team that is gradually moving to the regional level.

Even more noticeable is the connection of the Skyba family with the gas group of Yuriy Frenkel and Firtash’s structures. Ihor Skyba previously worked as chief engineer of the Dykanka LVDMG, which was part of “Gas Distribution Networks of Ukraine.” This state-owned company was long effectively controlled by Firtash’s group through Artem Kompan, Yuriy Frenkel’s nephew. In addition, Ihor Skyba is the founder of LLC “AKVA-Dykanka,” which operated in the mineral water market, linked in the region to Frenkel through the “Real” plant.

Skyba’s appointment is not the first such case. Earlier, Oleh Mizik, former director of “Zaporizhzhya Gas,” also associated with Firtash’s orbit, became First Deputy Head of the Poltava RMA. Before joining the RMA, he headed “Poltavavodokanal” and “Poltavateploenergo,” around which corruption scandals regularly arose. Earlier, while working at “Zaporizhzhya Gas,” he was mentioned in a case of gas theft worth 27 million UAH, but the case had no consequences.

A separate question is how Mizik passed the NACP check, despite public information about his wife’s possible fictitious second-group disability and numerous media publications. The verification was prolonged, Mizik provided explanations, but the final conclusion was positive. Against this background, the region is openly discussing a possible connection between passing the check and the subsequent appointment of Yevhen Skyba, who previously worked at the agency.

Additional stability to the system is provided by the fact that Yevhen Skyba’s brother, Dmytro Skyba, works in the regional prosecutor’s office.

As a result, a closed vertical is forming in the Poltava RMA, consisting of people linked by family, political, and business ties: Dyakivnych, Mizik, Skyba, Kalinin. Behind this structure, the interests of Kulinich, Firtash, Frenkel, and groups close to the Presidential Office are becoming increasingly visible.

Against the backdrop of the monopolization of power by the “Dovira” party and the lack of a tough reaction from law enforcement, the consequences are already going beyond behind-the-scenes agreements. The strike of sewage truck drivers outside the RMA building became the first open signal. Entrepreneurs directly accuse the authorities of attempting to redistribute the market, putting pressure on business, and returning to the methods of the Yanukovych era. All of this is happening in a region where the environmental safety of the regional center directly depends on the operation of communal infrastructure.