Odesa mayor who holds Russian passport says he is ready to defend his position even behind bars

Odesa Mayor Hennadii Trukhanov, who was stripped of his Ukrainian citizenship the previous day, has said he will prove his case in court, will not leave the country and is ready to defend his position even if imprisoned.

Source: Trukhanov at a press briefing on 15 October

Details: Trukhanov was asked why he has not yet been detained for allegedly concealing dual citizenship or for treason. "Well, everyone says something's being prepared, that something will happen. So I'm preparing. I'm always ready. I'm not going anywhere. I'll stay here. Behind bars? Well, then I'll defend my position behind bars," he replied.

Trukhanov once again insisted he has never held Russian citizenship.

"I've never had any passports – neither Greek nor Russian. I've never had a Russian passport or Russian citizenship," he stated.

He called all the claims about his Russian citizenship "falsification" and a "forgery" hastily put together.

"They made it all up quickly. How could they have misled the president and everyone else like this? … It's a moral execution. They just executed me," Trukhanov said.

He stressed that he still intends to go to court because he is "confident in his innocence".

"I will fight and continue working for the good of my city. And I am confident in my victory," Trukhanov said.

In the meantime, he did not rule out the possibility of being persecuted.

"I think if they've started this, they'll go even further. If they want to destroy a person, they'll do it cynically and demonstratively, so that all other Ukrainian officials sit down and understand that there's no rule of law in our country – no right even to defend yourself," he said.

Trukhanov added that in 2020, as an official, he had to undergo checks by various agencies to obtain access to classified information. Since he has now been serving as mayor for several years, he concluded that he must have successfully passed those checks.

Trukhanov questioned how this was possible if allegations about his second citizenship have existed since 2014.

Background:

• On 14 October, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on social media that he had made a decision regarding persons found to hold Russian citizenship, without revealing names.
• Suspilne, a Ukrainian public broadcaster, later obtained confirmation from sources within the government that this specifically refers to Hennadii Trukhanov.
• Trukhanov has served as mayor of Odesa since 2014. That same year, initial reports emerged alleging he held Russian citizenship. Under Ukraine's law on local self-government, loss of Ukrainian citizenship is grounds for early termination of a mayor's powers.
• Trukhanov has denied holding Russian citizenship and called the decision to strip him of his Ukrainian citizenship a forgery. He said he is set to file a lawsuit.
• The Security Service of Ukraine later stated that Trukhanov's citizenship of Ukraine was terminated because he is a citizen of Russia and holds a valid passport of the aggressor country.
• On 15 October, Zelenskyy appointed Serhii Lysak, Head of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Military Administration, as head of the newly formed Odesa City Military Administration.

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