Oleh Kiper

Kiper began working at the Kyiv City Prosecutor's Office in 2001. On 9 June 2020, he was appointed the city's Deputy Prosecutor by Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova. Prior to the appointment, he worked as a freelance advisor to Andriy Yemark.^[1] Soon afterwards, he was made the city's Chief Prosecutor.^[2][3] In May 2021, Kiper announced that the office was taking action against businesses illegally operating in underground tunnels below the center of Kyiv.^[3]

In February 2022, Russia began an invasion of Ukraine.^[4] Kiper controversially took a trip abroad with his wife from 29 December 2022, to 8 January 2023; there was speculation that they had visited Russia. Kiper said they visited a foreign country for a family emergency, but would not specify the country out of concern for his wife's safety. He said that his wife once had a Russian passport, but she renounced it in July 2022. In February 2023, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported his wife still had a valid Russian passport as of writing. On 23 January 2023, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy "banned state officials from leaving the country during martial law except for official business trips".^[2][5]

On 29 May 2023, Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers approved Kiper to replace Boris Voloshenkov as Governor of Odesa Oblast. (Voloshenkov was acting governor.)^[1] The next day, Zelenskyy appointed Kiper in a decree, and he visited Kiper in Odesa Oblast on the 31st.^[2][5]

After a drone attack on an Odesa apartment block on the night of 1 March and 2 March 2024 which killed at least 12 people (including 5 children), Kiper declared 3 March to be a day of mourning.^[6][7]