June 26, 2025, 1:21 p.m.

Ruslan Bodelan died

(Photo: Dumskaya)

On Thursday, June 26, the former head of Odesa Ruslan Bodelan died.

This was reported by the head of the Odesa District Council Vitaliy Barvinenko.

Ruslan Bodelan was a Soviet party activist and Ukrainian politician. First Secretary of the Odesa Regional Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine, Chairman of the Odesa Regional Council, Mayor of Odesa (August 1998 - April 2005). He has the title of "Honorary Citizen of Odesa".

As reported by the Center for Public Investigations, Volodymyr , the son of ex-mayor Bodelan Jr. was put on the wanted list in Ukraine. The court imposed a measure of restraint on him in the form of detention. Bodelan is accused of ordering rescuers not to respond to calls on May 2. As a result, 42 people died. At the time of these tragic events, Volodymyr Bodelan was the head of the Main Directorate of the State Emergency Service in Odesa Oblast.

After the incident, he immediately fled to Crimea and began to cooperate with the occupation authorities. In June 2023, the Pechersk Court of Kyiv granted the request of law enforcement officers and imposed a pre-trial restraint in the form of detention on the former head of the Main Directorate of the State Emergency Service, Volodymyr Bodelan.

In October 2020, Volodymyr Bodelan was promoted to a high position in the Russian-occupied Crimea. In particular, he became the deputy head of the Simferopol district administration. He took up his new position on October 5. Previously, he was an "assistant to the head of the Crimean Main Directorate for the support of the republic".

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