Gorzhiy Igor Hryhorovych

Turned Poltava region into an "environmental disaster zone"

Igor Gorzhiy is a Poltava official and regional deputy whose career has passed through several state regulatory bodies in the fields of energy and ecology. He holds three higher education degrees: Oil Geological Prospecting Technical College (1993), Poltava Technical University — Equipment of Oil and Gas Fields (2005), and Poltava University of Consumer Cooperatives — Enterprise Economics (2009). Alongside public service, he has been associated with LLC "Gas and Oil Industrial Complex" — an obvious conflict of interest for an official overseeing the oil and gas sector.

From "Our Ukraine" to "Fatherland"

A deputy of the Poltava Regional Council from "Our Ukraine" (6th convocation, 2010), later from "Fatherland" (7th and 8th convocations). He ran unsuccessfully for parliament in 2016 and 2019. Concurrently with his deputy duties, he consistently held positions as Head of the Territorial Department of the State Energy Saving Inspectorate for Poltava Region and Head of the State Environmental Inspectorate of the Central District.

"Environmental disaster zone" and inspector’s inaction

Journalists and public activists recorded numerous cases where Gorzhiy, as head of the environmental inspectorate, turned a blind eye to identified violations. Publications on regional resources describe his "achievements" — how the inspector ignored ecological crimes in Poltava region. In January 2024, local activists and deputies publicly demanded Gorzhiy's resignation, accusing him of turning Poltava region into an environmental disaster zone due to the inaction of the inspectorate he headed. In December 2023, information about corrupt corporate parties in Poltava was published.