On July 16, 2026, Volodymyr Zelensky signed Decree No. 615/2026 on the dismissal of Timur Tkachenko from his position as head of the Kyiv City Military Administration. The document cites Article 4 of the Law "On the Legal Regime of Martial Law" — a standard legal formulation that explains nothing substantive.
Tkachenko held the position for only seven months, having been appointed on December 31, 2024. Before him, the KCMA was headed by Serhiy Popko.
Seven Months of Dual Power
From the very beginning of Tkachenko's tenure in Kyiv, there was de facto dual power: the head of KCMA as a state representative and Mayor Vitali Klitschko as the elected head of the city. The legislation did not clearly delineate their powers — and both actively exploited this gap.
In January 2025, Klitschko publicly accused Tkachenko of attempting to take over the powers of the mayor, city council, and KCMA. Tkachenko responded with numbers: in 2025 he signed 1,361 orders, while Klitschko signed only 123. By the end of 2025, the confrontation went beyond statements — the conflict moved to the court, where the mayor attempted to suspend KCMA personnel orders.
Actually, it's completely fake that a person heading a military administration should deal exclusively with military matters.
Timur Tkachenko — on the essence of the power conflict
A Day of Major Personnel Changes
Tkachenko's dismissal occurred on the same day as the formation of a new government headed by Serhiy Koretsky — the third cabinet resignation in over seven years of Zelensky's presidency. That same day, the president dismissed the heads of the Kyiv Regional Administration, Mykola Kalashnik, and the Mykolaiv Regional Administration, Vitaly Kim. Kalashnik immediately received the portfolio of Minister for Recovery, Infrastructure and Transport in the new government — meaning his dismissal was essentially a career move upward. Regarding Tkachenko and Kim — no new appointments were publicly announced.
Ruslan Oliynyk was appointed to temporarily perform the duties of head of the Kyiv Regional Administration. As of the time of publication, no acting head has been named for KCMA.
What Tkachenko Said
After his dismissal, Tkachenko published a farewell post in which he thanked Kyivans, rescuers, police, volunteers, and his team. He also thanked the president — but wrote not a word about the reasons for his resignation. The Presidential Office also did not publicize its position.
The resilience of the capital is ensured primarily by ordinary Kyivans, but extraordinary citizens.
Timur Tkachenko — from his farewell post
Why Now and Who Benefits
The logic of the synchronization is obvious: a large-scale personnel renewal — government, several regional administrations at once — allows each individual dismissal to "dissolve" in the overall flow. Questions about the reasons for removing Tkachenko after only seven months of work will arise in the public sphere, but will not dominate.
Klitschko, whom the Presidential Office has unsuccessfully attempted to push out of Kyiv politics for years, finds himself in a winning position — at least tactically — after Tkachenko's departure. His main opponent in the struggle for control of the city has disappeared, and the new head of KCMA has not yet been appointed.
An open question: if the next head of KCMA receives clearer delineation of powers from the mayor — this will be a signal that the Presidential Office has drawn conclusions from the conflict. If the legislative gap remains unfilled, Kyiv will once again have dual power — just with different names.
