«Russia is my enemy», Trukhanov says he will not leave Odesa and will not agree to «exchange»

Odesa Mayor Hennadii Trukhanov. Photo: Odesa City Council

Odesa Mayor Hennadii Trukhanov suggests that the Presidential Office may not like him, which is why information about his alleged Russian citizenship has now emerged. The politician also stressed that he has no plans to travel to Russia and fears for his life in the event of a forced exchange.

In a commentary to Radio Liberty, the mayor of Odesa assured that he had never applied to Russia for citizenship and had no legal grounds to obtain it automatically.

«I did not apply to Russia for Russian citizenship. I could not get it in any other way at all. Do you know what the mistake of those who have been stamping these passports since 2014 was? They referred to the fact that there was a provision in the law that all military personnel who were on the territory of the former Soviet Union in 1992 were automatically granted Russian citizenship. However, I was not eligible for this citizenship because I had resigned from the CIS Armed Forces. I resigned on 15 January 1992, and the law came into force on 6 February 1992. That's why I didn't receive anything. All these passports that are currently «walking around» are all fakes,» he stressed.

Hennadii Trukhanov suggested that the Presidential Office might not like him, which is why the issue of his Russian citizenship has started to gain momentum again.

« I am not suitable for the Presidential Office, the President... Why? I don't know. This is the 4th year of war. I ensure the life of the city, the defence capability of the city, including at every «arrival». I don't know why people don't like me. I've already said, maybe my hair doesn't suit me, I don't know what. I don't know what's wrong with me. Maybe the elections are coming,» the official said.

According to him, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy did not communicate with him before deciding to terminate his citizenship. The mayor believes that the head of state «was misled» by providing «with these cartoons, not passports».

When asked by journalists about his possible exchange or departure to Russia, Hennadii Trukhanov replied that he had no legal grounds for this and feared for his life if he entered the territory of the Russian Federation.

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«You say exchange, what exchange? They will kill me as soon as I am thrown there. Because what I am doing against them as a countermeasure, I'm not going to tell you on air right now. But these facts are there. Russia is our enemy and my enemy. Every day we bury people,» he stressed.

Earlier, Trukhanov said that «had not changed his mind about going to court» and remained the mayor of Odesa.

Before that, the Security Service of Ukraine confirmed that the mayor of Odesa, Hennadii Trukhanov, had been deprived of Ukrainian citizenship. Copies of his Russian passport are in the possession of the special service.

However, investigative journalist Khrysto Hroziev suggested that the Russian passport used to deprive Trukhanov of his Ukrainian citizenship could be a fake.

It is worth noting that just the day before, Odesa Mayor Hennadii Trukhanov said that the President's Office was preparing an initiative to deprive him of Ukrainian citizenship and called these intentions part of «another provocation».

In less than a day, 25,000 people signed a petition demanding that Hennadii Trukhanov be deprived of Ukrainian citizenship. The initiative gained the required number of votes after the natural disaster of 30 September, when ten people died. In response, Hennadii Trukhanov said that he was ready to undergo any test, including a polygraph, to prove that he did not hold a Russian passport.

Later, Hennadii Trukhanov stated that he was supported by the majority of citizens and had no plans to leave Ukraine.

In addition, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded to an electronic petition to establish a military administration in Odesa.

Ukrainian journalists have repeatedly published investigations into Trukhanov's Russian citizenship. This was reported by Slidstvo. Info and hromadske. In 2016, the Security Service of Ukraine began checking the Odesa mayor's ties to Russia, but later the agency said it was unable to find out whether he really had a Russian passport.