Ihor Viktorovych Kolykhaiev (; born 8 May 1971) is a Ukrainian politician who has served as mayor of

Kherson Kherson (Ukrainian language, Ukrainian and , , ) is a port city in southern Ukraine that serves as the administrative centre of Kherson Oblast. Located by the Black Sea and on the Dnieper, Dnieper River, Kherson is the home to a major ship-bui ...

since the

2020 Ukrainian local elections The 2020 Ukrainian local elections took place on Sunday 25 October 2020.Ukrai ...

. Kolykhaiev is former

People's Deputy of Ukraine A people's deputy of Ukraine (, ) is a member of parliament and legislator elected by Direct election, popular vote to the Verkhovna Rada, the parliament of Ukraine. They are often referred to simply as "deputies". Prior to 1991, the Verkhovna R ...

, elected in the

2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Ukraine on 21 July 2019. Originally scheduled to be held at the end of October, the elections were brought forward after newly inaugurated President of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dissolved parli ...

. On 28 June 2022, Kolykhaiev was abducted by Russian agents amidst the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

and the occupation of Kherson. His whereabouts became unknown until on 13 September 2023 the

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

confirmed to Kolykhaiev's son that his father's been added to the Russian list of prisoners and he was in Russia.

Personal life

Ihor Kolykhaiev was born on 8 May 1971, in Kherson. His mother worked as a shop assistant, and his father as a lathe operator at the enterprise. After school graduation, he entered A. Popov Navy Institute of Radio-electronics in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

. Having got higher education, Kolykhaiev returned to his native city and in 1995 started to work as an entrepreneur. Kolykhaiev has two children. In 2016, Kolykhaiev founded Ihor Kolykhaev's Charity Fund which is aimed at charity help to sportsmen and Kherson citizens. In 2006, Yurii Bokalo established the

futsal Futsal is a variant of association football played between two teams of five players each on a court smaller than a football pitch. Its rules are based on the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game of association football, and i ...

club, MFC Prodexim Kherson, named after Ihor Kolykhaev's enterprise ”Prodexim.”

Political career

In October 2015, Ihor Kolykhaiev stood for becoming a deputy at

Kherson Oblast Kherson Oblast (, ; ), also known as Khersonshchyna (, ), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in southern Ukraine. It is located just north of Crimea. Its administrative center is Kherson, on the northern or right bank ...

Council in accordance with the lists of political party

Petro Poroshenko Bloc European Solidarity (, ; , YeS) is a political party in Ukraine. It has its roots in a parliamentary group called Solidarity dating from 2000 and has existed since in various forms as a political outlet for Petro Poroshenko. The party with its the ...

. Having received 25.2% votes at the electoral ward, he was elected in the

2015 Ukrainian local elections On 25 October 2015 local elections took place in Ukraine. The elections were conducted a little over a year since the 2014 snap local elections, which were only held throughout parts of the country. A second round of voting for the election of ...

a deputy of Kherson Oblast Council of the 7th convocation and in December 2015, he took the oath. On 21 July 2019, he was elected in the

the people's deputy of Ukraine of the 9th convocation at 184 first past the post election constituency.Electoral history of Ihor Kolykhaiev

Civil movement "Chesno" Chesno () is a Ukrainian public campaign that emerged late 2011 to advance a fair election process. It is widely known for its critical analysis and evaluation of politicians and the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) in Ukraine. The organization provi ...

At the

Verkhovna Rada The Verkhovna Rada ( ; VR), officially the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, is the unicameralism, unicameral parliament of Ukraine. It consists of 450 Deputy (legislator), deputies presided over by a speaker. The Verkhovna Rada meets in the Verkhovn ...

(Ukraine's national parliament) of the 9th convocation Faction a Deputy Group member "For the Future". He became the Head's deputy Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on agricultural matters and soil policy at the

of the 9th convocation. Kolykhaiev was elected mayor of

in the

2020 Ukrainian local elections The 2020 Ukrainian local elections took place on Sunday 25 October 2020.Ukrai ...

.The mayor of Kherson became the people's deputy majoritarian

Ukrayinska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' is a Ukrainian socio-political online media outlet founded by Heorhii Gongadze in April 2000. After Gongadze’s death in September 2000, the editorial team was led by co-founder Olena Prytula, who remained the editor-in ...

(16 November 2020)"We have to live here": who entered the top ten of Igor Kolykhayev's party list

(21 September 2020) A party founded by him called "

We Have to Live Here We Have to Live Here (Full name: Ihor Kolykhaiev Party — We Have to Live Here; ), is a Political parties in Ukraine, Ukrainian political party established in December 2014, and is most active in Kherson Oblast. History Establishment as "Rena ...

" won 13 of the 54 seats in the Kherson City Council in the same election. On 30 March 2021, Kolykhaiev resigned from the Verkhovna Rada to focus on his role as mayor.Two deputies resigned

(30 March 2021) On 24 February 2022, the start of the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

, Russian forces from

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

began advancing in the direction of Kherson. Parts of the city were damaged, and Kolykhaiev allowed volunteers to dig mass graves due to heavy civilian casualties. On March 2, Kherson became the first major Ukrainian city to fall. Kolykhaiev reported 10 Russian officers including their commander, came into the city's administration. After some discussion, they came to an agreement on rules the city would have to follow while under Russian occupation. Kolykhaiev pushed for his own demands of the Russian officers during the meeting, which included the Ukrainian flag flying over the administration building, tanks not being allowed into the city, and humanitarian aid / evacuations. He later told ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' that the Russian officers had informed him of their plans to set up a military administration. He expressed distaste for the situation. The occupational administration installed a puppet government of Kherson, replacing him with

Oleksandr Kobets Oleksandr Yuriyovych Kobets (born 27 September 1959) is a Ukrainian and Russian politician, businessman and former intelligence officer who served as the Collaboration with Russia during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian-installed ma ...

, on 27 April 2022. On 28 June, Kolykhaiev was abducted by Russian agents. His whereabouts then became unknown. On 21 September 2022,

President of Ukraine The president of Ukraine (, ) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, conducts negotiations and concludes international treaties. ...

Volodymyr Zelenskyy Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy (born 25 January 1978) is a Ukrainian politician and former entertainer who has served as the sixth and current president of Ukraine since 2019. He took office five years after the start of the Russo-Ukraini ...

appointed Halyna Luhova as Head of the Kherson City Military Administration. Luhova then started to performs the functions of mayor. On 11 November 2022, Kherson was liberated by the Ukrainian army. On 13 September 2023, the

told Kolykhaiev's son that his father's been added to the Russian list of prisoners and he was in Russia. Information where exactly Kolykhaiev was held, and an update on the status of his health was not given by the Russian authorities.Mayor of Kherson Kolykhaiev in Russian captivity, he is ready to exchange – son

(17 September 2023)

Awards

Medal of Merit of Ukraine's Football Federation.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kolykhaiev, Ihor 1971 births Living people Ninth convocation members of the Verkhovna Rada Mayors of Kherson Recipients of the Order For Courage, 3rd class Prisoners of war held by Russia Ukrainian prisoners of war