Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he intends to place the strategic port city of Odesa under military administration.
The announcement came during Zelenskyy’s nightly video address and follows confirmation by the country’s Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) that long-time Odesa Mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov has been stripped of his Ukrainian citizenship, making him ineligible for the office.
The SBU said in a press release on October 14 that Trukhanov’s citizenship had been revoked by presidential decree after multiple documents emerged proving he was a Russian citizen. Dual nationality is prohibited under Ukrainian law.
The SBU’s latest findings overturned an earlier investigation it conducted in 2016 that said Trukhanov’s Russian citizenship could not be proven.
Trukhanov contested the decision and vowed to fight it all the way to the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights if necessary.
“I have never had a Russian passport,” he told state television after Zelenskyy announced the revocation of his citizenship.
The move to revoke Trukhanov’s Ukrainian citizenship followed Zelenskyy’s meeting with security agency officials earlier during which he discussed the handling of alleged Russian influence networks in administrative positions.
Odesa: A Strategic Gateway To the Black Sea
Odesa is one of Ukraine’s biggest cities with a major seaport granting on the Black Sea. Russia has occupied large swathes of Ukraine’s coastline to the east of the city. Odesa — especially its port infrastructure — has been a frequent target of Russian air strikes.
Some Odesa residents launched a petition earlier to strip Trukhanov of his Ukrainian citizenship claiming he was simultaneously a Russian passport holder as well as a Russian taxpayer, which violates Ukraine’s constitution — something the SBU confirmed to be the case.
According to the SBU, Trukhanov was granted Russian citizenship in 2015 — a year after the illegal annexation of Crimea by Russia and the start of Russian-backed military action in Ukraine’s east.
The security service also noted that although Trukhanov asked a court in the Moscow region to annul his internal Russian passport in 2017, the annulment of the document does not cancel his citizenship, according to Russian legislation.
