Odesa MBA Legal Department is headed by Denys Balukh

Former MP Denys Balukh has been appointed head of the legal department of the Odesa City Military Administration.

No official order on his appointment has been made public, but he was present at the session of the Odesa City Council on November 19 as the head of the department.

Denys Balukh was a three-time city council member from the Nasha Ukraina and Trust the Deeds parties, which until recently were headed by former Odesa Mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov. A lawyer by training, he previously worked at the Department of Justice of Odesa Oblast. Since 2006, he has served as a state expert at the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine.

In 2003, he headed the Department of Organizational and Analytical Support of the Justice Department of Odesa Region.

Earlier, Odesa City Council approved a new 17-member executive committee, including representatives of the city military administration. The changes were explained by the need to coordinate the actions of the authorities under martial law. In particular, representatives of the newly formed Odesa City Military Administration - Nadiya Zadorozhna, Serhiy Krasylenko, Hennadiy Raskin and Olga Lozova- were added to the executive committee.

On October 16, the new head of the Odesa City Military Administration, Serhiy Lysak, was introduced in Odesa. The day before, President Zelensky announced the creation of the Odesa City Military Administration in an evening address, after which Lysak became the main contender for the post.

On October 14, Zelensky deprived Odesa Mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov, former MP Oleh Tsarev, and dancer Serhiy Polunin of Ukrainian citizenship. After that, he formally lost his powers as mayor.

Trukhanov himself denied having Russian citizenship, called the deprivation of his Ukrainian passport a political decision, and appealed to international bodies to confirm his status.

Кирило Бойко