Municipal Security Department in Odesa left without a head

The interim mayor of Odesa, Ihor Koval, has dismissed Volodymyr Kharishchak, director of the Municipal Security Department of the Odesa City Council.

The corresponding order was published by the press service of the Odesa municipality, according to the Center for Public Investigations.

The reason for the order was a statement by Volodymyr Kharishchak. The then mayor of Odesa, Hennadiy Trukhanov, appointed Volodymyr Kharishchak to the position of director of the municipal security department of the Odesa City Council in April 2025.

See also: Where to hide in Odesa during an emergency? Live interview with Intent.Insight.

At that time, the reason for the appointment was Volodymyr Kharishchak's own statement and the submission of Deputy Mayor Valeriy Silin. In fact, Volodymyr Kharishchak lost his status of acting head. After all, he has been heading the department since the beginning of March 2025, when Hennadii Trukhanov appointed him to this position instead of the dismissed Viktor Kuznetsov.

Viktor Kuznetsov and his deputy, Yuriy Savchenko, are suspected of abusing procurement for the Defense Forces. According to the prosecutor's office, they purchased tactical clothing and armor plates from the company for the terrorist defense and volunteer units of Odesa at prices that were twice as high as the real ones. As a result, the overpayment amounted to UAH 3.9 million.

It is worth noting that after the introduction of the city military administration in Odesa, municipal security has changed. For example, the head of the Odesa City Military Administration, Serhiy Lysak, was instructed to consider the possibility of hiring employees of the Municipal Guard from among the veterans who fought. On October 16, he said that he would meet with representatives of the Municipal Guard and would probably ask private security companies to leave the military administration's premises.

Кирило Бойко