Sienkevych was asked about Trukhanov's deprivation of citizenship: «Who am I to comment on the president's decision?»

Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych comments on the deprivation of Ukrainian citizenship of the mayor of Odesa. Photo: NikVesti

The mayor of Mykolaiv, Oleksandr Sienkevych, refused to assess President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's decision to revoke the citizenship of the mayor of Odesa.

He said this in a conversation with journalists after a workshop of the Association of Frontline Cities and Communities, according to NikVesti.

The question about the situation with Hennadii Trukhanov was addressed to both mayors present — Ihor Terekhov and Oleksandr Sienkevych, but the Kharkiv mayor left the event early due to the live broadcast.

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In his turn, the mayor of Mykolaiv said he was not ready to comment on Volodymyr Zelenskyy's decision, but added that anything could happen in today's realities.

«Who am I to comment on the President's decision... I believe that anything can happen. Moreover, I am not only a witness, but also a participant in how I was deprived of the right to hold my position in an illegal way. I returned six months later. Anything can happen,» said Sienkevych.

At the same time, he emphasised that it was not the right time for disputes. He stressed that the priority should be joint work, not politics.

«At the beginning of the war, the President of Ukraine said that we do not have politics, political parties and so on in our country. We have only one party, called Ukraine, and we are fighting for it today. ... I did not see a single political slogan, political hint or mention of a political party or force at this event today. Therefore, I consider any political issues inappropriate within this forum,» the mayor added.

Mayor of Odesa deprived of Ukrainian citizenship

On 12 October, Odesa Mayor Hennadii Trukhanov said that the Presidential 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 on the Presidential Office's website demanding that Hennadii Trukhanov be deprived of Ukrainian citizenship because he holds a Russian passport. This initiative gained the required number of votes after the natural disaster on 30 September, when ten people died. In response to these actions, Hennadii Trukhanov said that he was ready to undergo any test, including a polygraph, to prove that he did not hold a Russian passport.

Ukrainian journalists have repeatedly published investigations into Trukhanov's Russian citizenship. They wrote about it in «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.

However, on 14 October, Volodymyr Zelenskyy did deprive Hennadii Trukhanov of Ukrainian citizenship. The SSU confirmed the deprivation of the mayor of Odesa of his citizenship. It stated that the special service has copies of his Russian passport.

Afterwards, Odesa Mayor Hennadii Trukhanov told journalists that he was supported by the majority of citizens and had no plans to leave Ukraine.

At the same time, investigative journalist Khrysto Hrozev suggested that the Russian passport that had led to Trukhanov's deprivation of Ukrainian citizenship might be a fake.

On 15 October, the president formed a city military administration in Odesa and appointed its head. It was Ihor Lysak. The Secretary of the City Council, Ihor Koval, became the interim mayor of Odesa.bIt should also be added that all 22 of Trukhanov's advisers were dismissed.