Ukraine's President Fires Regional Governor

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko dismissed the billionaire governor of an eastern region Wednesday following a rancorous dispute pitting the tycoon against the government.

Poroshenko’s office said in a statement that Ihor Kolomoysky had asked to be released from his duties as governor of Dnipropetrovsk.

The government last week followed through on its plans to dilute the power of Ukraine’s ultrarich business elite by pushing a law through parliament that led, in effect, to control over an oil and gas company being wrested from Kolomoysky.

Kolomoysky reacted by ordering armed groups of men to seize the offices of two energy companies in the capital, Kiev.

The episode has threatened to spark renewed political instability in Ukraine, which is battling Russian-backed separatists in eastern regions neighbouring Dnipropetrovsk, as well as a sinking economy.

Kolomoysky is a contentious figure in Ukraine — unafraid to use heavy-handed tactics in his business activities but also strongly committed to protecting Ukraine’s territorial integrity