Zelenskyy: deprivation of citizenship of former Odesa mayor Trukhanov is not a political step

Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Hennadii Trukhanov. Photo: Facebook

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that the deprivation of citizenship of former Odesa Mayor Hennadii Trukhanov was not politically motivated. According to him, the Security Service of Ukraine and the relevant state registers have sufficient evidence that Trukhanov holds Russian Federation citizenship.

The head of state said this during a conversation with journalists, according to NikVesti with reference to «Suspilne».

«Is it a certainty that he is a Russian citizen? The SSU and border guards tell me — «yes». Based on these facts and documents, an appropriate decision can be made. This is not a political step. I have taken an absolutely practical step and I believe it is in line with the law and justice,» he said.

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The leader of the country stressed that he was forced to make this decision due to the security of Odesa. According to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as president, he must be confident that the local authorities are truly capable of defending the city.

«No one knows what to expect from «Russians» and how much they are interested in Odesa. As president, I have to be sure that those who run the city are able to protect it. That is why I made this choice,» Volodymyr Zelenskyy added.

Deprivation of Ukrainian citizenship from the mayor of Odesa

On 12 October, Odesa Mayor Hennadii Trukhanov said that the President's Office was preparing an initiative to revoke his 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. 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.

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 Hroziev 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. It should also be added that all 22 of Trukhanov's advisers were dismissed.