Sept. 20, 2025, 2:22 p.m.
(PHOTO: ALL)
The "Money for the Armed Forces" campaign, which is traditionally held in Odesa every Saturday, September 20, on Exchange Square, was attended by veterans of the war with Russia.
They appealed to President Zelensky with a request to establish a military administration in Odesa, the Ukrainian Information Service reported.
The appeal, in particular, stated that Mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov was spreading pro-Russian sentiment and was dismissive of the military. In addition, according to the veterans, the mayor is implementing corruption schemes to avoid mobilization and does not allocate enough funds to support the frontline.
In January 2025, the participants of the "Money for the Armed Forces" campaign presented Mayor Hennadii Trukhanov with a cake on his anniversary. The fact is that on his anniversary, the mayor was given a cake in the shape of Odesa with a monument to Duke in the form of Hennadii Trukhanov himself, as well as books by Russian writers, some of whom were named after the city's streets until last year.
More than 50 such actions have taken place in Odesa since last year. For example, on August 24, 2024, several dozen activists lined up along Preobrazhenska Street on Soborna Square to mark the anniversary of the beginning of the protests.
The rally on March 23 became the 29th only because the rally on Saturday, March 2, was canceled due to the Day of Mourning. So the September 30 rally became the anniversary rally. The first rally took place on August 28, 2023, when the Odesa City Council approved the allocation of 106 million for the repair of the Kyiv District Court and Kateryna Nozhevnikova, head of the Monster Corporation charity foundation, announced a picket outside the Odesa City Council. But this year, August 28 is a Wednesday.
The single picket of the Odesa volunteer turned into a mass rally because of the desire of Odessans to support the volunteer. More than 100 people came to the rally, and since then the rallies have become a tradition. Kateryna Nozhevnikova also stated that she was ready to come to the mayor's office every day to prevent such senseless spending of budget funds.
In November 2023, Kateryna Nozhevnikova decided to stop protesting, satisfied that the Odesa City Council had decided to cancel the procurement. However, she did not call on other protesters to stop their actions, leaving it to their own discretion. In July 2024, an initiative group of citizens who hold "Money for the Armed Forces" rallies every Saturday met with Odesa Mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov.
The activists were told that at the end of June, MPs voted to amend the law to allow municipalities to make purchases for all units of the Armed Forces. The law is currently awaiting the signature of the President of Ukraine, but for it to work, amendments to the Budget Code are also needed.
Кирило Бойко