Saakashvili steps down as head of corruption-plagued Odessa
MOSCOW — Mikhail Saakashvili, the former Georgian president who became governor of Ukraine’s Odessa region, announced Monday that he is resigning in frustration at what he characterized as obstruction in efforts to root out corruption.
Saakashvili was appointed governor of the corruption-riddled Black Sea region in May 2015 by President Petro Poroshenko. But in his resignation announcement in Odessa, Saakashvili accused Poroshenko of supporting criminal clans in Odessa.
Poroshenko has made integration with the European Union a priority, but endemic corruption throughout the country impedes that policy.