Dec. 20, 2025, 12:29 p.m.
(PHOTOS: Odesa District Council)
The session of the Odesa District Council, which was supposed to take place on December 19, did not take place again due to the lack of a quorum.
According to the Center for Public Investigations, citing the press service of the district council, the only deputy chairman, Arkady Mkrtichyan, acted as chairman of the council .
It was supposed to be the first meeting of the district council without a chairman, as Vitaliy Barvinenko, who held this position, resigned.
Only 23 deputies gathered, and Arkady Mkrtichyan , the deputy chairman of the council, acting as chairman, informed the audience about the key activities and future projects of the district council aimed at developing the district's communities, supporting social initiatives, and strengthening cooperation with the public sector.
Unlike the city council, where the secretary acts as chairman in the event of the chairman's termination, district and regional councils do not have a secretary, so the session is chaired by the first deputy or other deputies until the election of a new chairman, but in the Odesa district council there is only one deputy chairman.
This is not the first time that a district council has failed to assemble a quorum. On September 19, the deputies of the Odesa district council gathered for a session, but could not hold a meeting due to the lack of a quorum. Then the deputies from the Servant of the People faction did not come to the meeting, so only 32 deputies out of 33 required for a quorum were present. The meeting itself was held not in the hall of the Odesa Regional Council, as usual, but in the session hall of the Odesa City Council. But for the session on December 19, they gathered again in the regional council building.
In the absence of a quorum, they limited themselves to presenting Natalia Bohachenko and Ihor Novosadskyi with letters of appreciation from the Odesa District Council for exemplary performance of official duties, high achievements in military service, conscientious performance of official duties and dedication to their work, and then left.
Vitaliy Barvinenko - resigned from the post of the chairman of the district council on December 15, stating that, in his opinion, the government, hiding behind the war, deliberately destroyed local self-government. In the future, he sees his main focus as public activities and work with international partners, as well as remaining in Ukrainian politics and the media space.
Meanwhile, the Odesa City Council held a meeting on December 12 to approve the city's budget for 2026, which was likely the last meeting of the year. And the Odesa Regional Council held a meeting on December 4.
Кирило Бойко
March 30, 2026
OSCE condemns Russian attack on Suspilne Odesa office