Ukraine appoints Ivan Fedorov to lead State Agency for Restoration, dismisses Zaporizhzhia OVA head
On 4 September, Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers appointed Ivan Fedorov, until then head of the Zaporizhzhia Oblast State (Military) Administration, as head of the State Agency for Restoration and Infrastructure Development. Serhiy Sukhomlyn and his first deputy were dismissed from the agency the same day. President Volodymyr Zelensky signed decrees dismissing Fedorov from the Zaporizhzhia OVA and appointing Mykhaylo Semykin as acting head of the region.
Key points
- On 4 September, the Cabinet of Ministers appointed Ivan Fedorov head of the State Agency for Restoration and Infrastructure Development.
- The Cabinet agreed the same day to dismiss Fedorov from his post as head of the Zaporizhzhia Oblast State (Military) Administration.
- Serhiy Sukhomlyn, who had led the agency since September 2024, was dismissed as head of the agency.
- First Deputy Head Mykola Boyko was also dismissed from the agency on 4 September.
- President Zelensky signed decree No. 871/2026 dismissing Fedorov from the Zaporizhzhia OVA on his own application; decree No. 872/2026 appointed Mykhaylo Semykin as acting head of the Zaporizhzhia OVA.
- Fedorov had headed the Zaporizhzhia Oblast State Administration since February 2024; Semykin had been its deputy head since 1 May 2024.
- Sukhomlyn reportedly submitted his resignation letter on his own initiative on 29 July 2026.
- Fedorov said he would combine the new agency role with continued work in Zaporizhzhia region as co-chair of the Regional Defense Council.
- Cabinet representative in the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, Taras Melnychuk, announced the decisions via Telegram.
Why it matters
The State Agency for Restoration and Infrastructure Development is the central executive body tasked with protecting and rebuilding strategically important infrastructure across wartime Ukraine, so installing a new head is a consequential personnel decision. Replacing Sukhomlyn — who had led the agency since September 2024 — and his first deputy on the same day signals a substantive leadership reset. Pairing the appointment with a simultaneous change at the frontline Zaporizhzhia Oblast State Administration, one of the most war-affected regions, ties a national-level personnel move to regional wartime management. Fedorov brings a high profile and direct wartime experience, having been abducted and released by Russian forces in March 2022.
What happened
On 4 September, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine appointed Ivan Fedorov head of the State Agency for Restoration and Infrastructure Development. The Cabinet agreed the same day to dismiss Fedorov from his post as head of the Zaporizhzhia Oblast State (Military) Administration. Serhiy Sukhomlyn, who had headed the agency since September 2024 and who reportedly submitted his own resignation letter on 29 July 2026, was dismissed, as was First Deputy Head Mykola Boyko. Anna Sdobnova was also dismissed as deputy head of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance for digital development, digital transformations and digitalisation. Cabinet representative in the Verkhovna Rada Taras Melnychuk announced the decisions via Telegram. President Zelensky then signed decree No. 871/2026 dismissing Fedorov from the Zaporizhzhia OVA on his own application, and decree No. 872/2026 appointing Mykhaylo Semykin — previously deputy head of the Zaporizhzhia OVA since 1 May 2024 — as acting head of the oblast. Fedorov said he would combine the new role with continued work in Zaporizhzhia region as co-chair of the Regional Defense Council.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
All reporting on the appointments and dismissals comes from Ukrainian outlets and agencies, including state and public broadcasters, and centres on the official government decisions announced by Cabinet representative Taras Melnychuk via Telegram. Coverage foregrounds Fedorov's biography — mayor of the now Russian-occupied city of Melitopol, his abduction and release by Russian forces in March 2022, and his tenure in the frontline Zaporizhzhia OVA — to frame him as a tested wartime manager. Some outlets reproduce the presidential decrees in detail, foregrounding the institutional and procedural side of the personnel move, while regional reporting notes Suspilne's identification of Mykhaylo Semykin as a leading candidate to succeed Fedorov in Zaporizhzhia.
Where reporting differs
Sources frame Fedorov's planned continuing role in Zaporizhzhia differently: most describe him as 'co-chair of the Regional Defense Council', while one article characterises him as 'deputy head of the Defense Council of Zaporizhzhia Oblast'. The date given for Sukhomlyn's voluntary resignation letter is reported as '29 July' in some accounts and as '29 July 2026' in others.
Background
Ivan Fedorov was elected mayor of Melitopol in 2020. After Russian forces entered the city on 25 February 2022, he refused to cooperate with them; he was abducted by Russian forces on 11 March 2022 and released on 16 March 2022 in an exchange for nine Russian conscripts. In February 2024 President Zelensky appointed him head of the Zaporizhzhia Oblast State Administration. Serhiy Sukhomlyn, formerly mayor of Zhytomyr, took over the State Agency for Restoration in September 2024 and reportedly submitted his own resignation letter on 29 July (2026 per some accounts). The State Agency for Restoration and Infrastructure Development is a central executive body implementing state policy on infrastructure restoration and development, coordinated through the Minister of Development of Communities and Territories.