President Volodymyr Zelensky responded to petition No. 22/163498-ep, the author of which asks to pay attention to the actions and statements of Odesa Mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov.
The author of the petition, Rodion Burlutskyi, stated that Trukhanov promoted the theses of Russian propaganda, demonstrated his loyalty to the invaders, sabotaged the dismantling of monuments to Alexander Suvorov and the Russian Empress Catherine II, advocated compromises with the occupiers regarding Crimea, tried to return the communist names to Odesa and remove the names of the honor of the fighters of the Azov regiment and other fallen soldiers, and is still a citizen of Russia.
“Hennadiy Trukhanov does not contribute to the decommunization of Ukraine at all, on the contrary, one gets the impression that he misses the Soviet Union, and sometimes even plays along with the aggressor country, throwing in theses that are consistent with pro-Russian ones. The mayor has long had a reputation as a person who was accused of creating a criminal organization, embezzling the budget and attacking pro-Ukrainian activists,” the petition reads.
In his answers, the President indicated that the resolution of the issues raised in the petition (providing a legal assessment of the mayorʼs actions, possible prosecution, removal from office and deprivation of Ukrainian citizenship) does not belong to his constitutional powers.
Zelensky said that letters were sent to the Security Service of Ukraine and the Ministry of Internal Affairs with a request to verify the information contained in the petition. The author of the petition is promised to be informed about the results of the inspection.
- In August of this year, Trukhanov said that in the war against Russia, Ukraine must negotiate, seek compromises and avoid confrontation. Later, he corrected himself and said that the occupiers should be expelled from the entire territory of Ukraine.
- He also opposed the demolition of the monument to Catherine II. On September 28, the Odesa City Council did not support the draft decision on dismantling.