Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has appointed a new head for the port city of Odesa, following the removal of former mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov, whose Ukrainian citizenship was revoked amid allegations that he held a Russian passport.
The newly appointed leader, Serhiy Lysak, previously served as governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region. His appointment, announced Wednesday, came just one day after Trukhanov’s dismissal and marks the creation of a newly established military administration for Odesa — a wartime structure that grants the president greater control over local authorities.
While the measure has been described as necessary under martial law, critics have called it undemocratic, arguing that it sidelines local governance and electoral mandates.
Trukhanov, first elected in 2014, denied possessing Russian citizenship and announced plans to challenge the decision in court. Ukraine has suspended elections nationwide under its state of emergency, which remains in effect due to the ongoing war.
The ousted mayor has previously voiced opposition to Ukraine’s “de-Russification” efforts, a policy aimed at removing Russian influence from public life — a campaign that began after Moscow’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and intensified following Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
