Ukraine’s Petro Poroshenko has appointed former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili to be governor of Ukraine’s southern Odessa region, in a surprise move that is certain to raise hackles in Moscow.
President Poroshenko made the announcement on Saturday, standing alongside Saakashvili at a ceremony in Odessa, where he described him as “a great friend of Ukraine”. He granted Saakashvili Ukrainian citizenship to facilitate the move.
The security of the Black Sea city of Odessa and its surrounding region has become increasingly worrisome for Ukrainians since a separatist conflict broke out in eastern Ukraine following Russia’s annexation of Crimea further along the coast.
Saakashvili replaces …read more
Source: Voice of America
