Zelensky names head of newly established military administration in Odesa

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced that the governor of the country’s central Dnipropetrovsk region, Serhiy Lysak, will lead a newly established military administration in the southern port city of Odesa following the removal of its mayor, The Kyiv Independent reported on Wednesday. 

The move comes one day after Zelensky signed a decree stripping Odesa Mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov of his Ukrainian citizenship, thereby effectively removing him from power, after the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) discovered he also held a Russian passport. 

Trukhanov, who has been the mayor of Odesa since 2014, denied holding a Russian passport in a comment to Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne, and said he would appeal Zelensky’s decree both in the Ukrainian courts and, if necessary, the European Court of Human Rights. 

Following Trukhanov’s removal, Zelensky signed a decree creating a military administration to run the city of Odesa, a power accorded to him under martial law. Multiple city military administrations have been established in Ukraine this year to temporarily assume the function of municipal administrations in cities where they cannot operate.

Writing on his Telegram channel on Wednesday, Lysak said: “Today I am concluding my work as head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration. Behind me is a significant journey of more than 2.5 years”. He thanked Zelensky for his trust and added that “equally weighty tasks” lay ahead.