Police colonel Ivan Vyhivsky has become the new chief of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Kyiv on Aug. 11.
He has replaced his predecessor, Andriy Kryshchenko, who headed the capital’s police for more than five and a half years.
Previously, Vyhivsky headed the police force in Poltava Oblast.
“Kyiv is actually the heart of our state,” Vyhivsky said as he took his new position. “All regions have to keep up with the capital. There will be a lot of work.”
According to Internal Affairs Minister Denys Monastyrsky, the 30th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence will be the first challenge for the newly appointed chief.
He will also have to contend with organized crime, the safety of the capital’s busy streets, illegal construction, corporate raiding, property crimes, theft and security on public transportation.
Vyhivsky started his police career as an investigator in Mykolaiv Oblast. From 2015 to 2016 he served as the chief of the police department in Ochakiv, a city of about 14,000 people located about 475 kilometers south of Kyiv. In 2016, he became the deputy chief of investigative management in the regional police directorate.
In February 2020, Vyhivsky was appointed as the head of police in Poltava Oblast.
