The Veterans' Union accused the regional military administration of disrupting the session in Odesa

The Odessa Regional Military Administration has been accused of pressuring members of the Odessa City Council and sabotaging the city council session that was scheduled to take place on July 8.

Vadym Shipulin, head of the “Solidarity of the Unconquered” Trade Union of Defenders of Ukraine in the Odesa region, made these accusations.

According to him, some council members received threats from the Odesa Regional Military Administration and were told not to participate in the vote to expand the executive committee to include representatives of the veteran community nominated by the Council of Veterans. 

“The candidates were supported by the Veterans’ Council, but there was sabotage on the part of the regional military administration. Some council members received threats and demands not to participate, and the session was effectively derailed,” he said.

Intent reached out to the press office of Oleg Kipper, head of the Odesa Regional Administration, for comment.

<span></span>

The July8 session of the Odesa City Council never began due to the lack of a sustained quorum. Acting Odesa Mayor Ihor Koval announced a recess until July 14. 

The fact is that during registration at the entrance to the meeting hall, 34 council members were counted, and after determining that a quorum was present, the session began; however, they were only able to conduct the part of the session that did not directly involve voting—in other words, the ceremonial part. They also swore in a new council member—Maria Popravka, who represents the “Trust the Deeds” party. However, when electronic registration was conducted to begin the actual work and elect the session’s working bodies, it turned out that there were only 32 council members in the chamber. This is fewer than the number required to establish a quorum. Ihor Koval held a meeting with the heads of the factions, and it became clear that a stable quorum could not be achieved.

The preliminary agenda for this session consists of over 180 items, most of which concern finances and land. Land issues formed the largest block, numbering 120. It was also planned to grant approval to a number of municipal enterprises to open lines of credit. 

Кирило Бойко