Kobets was born on 27 September 1959 in
Kherson, in what was then the
Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic of the
Soviet Union.
KGB career Kobets served as a
KGB officer until 1991, when he started working for the
Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). Kobets supervised economic issues in the 1990s, in particular, the work of the
Kherson Oil Refinery. In the early 2000s, Kobets was transferred to the head office of the SBU and served as an officer in the operational leadership of the SBU. A pensioner by seniority, he retired from the SBU in 2010. In his resume, which was compiled in September 2020, he writes that "during his work in the special services, he cooperated with structural units of the
Cabinet of Ministers,
Ministry of Finance,
Ministry of Economy,
National Bank,
State Property Fund,
Antimonopoly Committee,
Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry,
Naftogaz,
Ministry of Industrial Policy,
Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food,
Ministry of Health. He carried out measures on financial, energy, food, and environmental security of the state." Oleksandr Kobets wanted to get a position in one of the companies in Kyiv, but was not hired.
Activities in retirement Following his retirement, Kobets, together with his wife, founded a company which handles contract mediation for goods, production of juices, mineral water, soft drinks, and trade.
The Centre for Journalistic Investigations revealed that Kobets has not repaid a loan of 80,000 dollars for several years. In 2007, he got a job at the Ukrainian Collection Agency company, dealing with personnel issues and official investigations. Kobets then worked at RSB Petroleum FZC in the
United Arab Emirates from 2008 to 2011. This company was engaged in trading in petroleum products and oil. In 2012, he was the director of Transocean Ukraine Export LLC, which traded machines and equipment. In the same year, Oleksandr Kobets got a job as an adviser to the head of the Shevchenkiv district administration of Kyiv. From 2015 to 2018, he worked at
Alfa-Bank, where he managed internal security. From 2018 to 2020, he held the position of head of internal security at VK Tobacco and Sich Bank. Prior to the
Russian invasion of Ukraine, Kobets lived in
Kyiv. On 15 March he left Ukraine through the city of
Uzhhorod. On 26 April 2022 Kobets was appointed Mayor of Kherson. == Sanctions ==