Trukhanov announces official confirmation of his lack of Russian citizenship

Official documents have confirmed that former Odesa mayor Trukhanov does not have Russian citizenship. He appealed to the President of Ukraine to verify the facts and ensure the legality of the decision.

This was announced by former mayor Gennadiy Trukhanov.

The former mayor of Odesa stated that he did not have Russian citizenship and reported receiving official confirmation of this. According to him, he received the answer on December 30, 2025.

Trukhanov noted that due to the lack of responses to inquiries to Ukrainian state authorities, his lawyers used international legal mechanisms through third countries, as diplomatic relations between Ukraine and Russia have been severed. As a result, according to the former official, he received documentary evidence of his lack of Russian citizenship.

He also appealed to President Zelensky with a request to have the documents checked and to make a fair decision. He emphasized that he was not asking for any privileges, but insisted on the observance of the law and stressed that he was and remains a citizen of Ukraine.

In January 2026, former Odesa Mayor Trukhanov was released from round-the-clock house arrest. His preventive measure was changed to a personal commitment and his electronic bracelet was removed.

The trial against him began in October 2025. On October 28, the former official was notified of suspicion of negligence, which, according to the investigation, caused the deaths of people during heavy rainfall in September of the same year. According to law enforcement officials, the tragedy was the result of unpreparedness of the city's infrastructure for the disaster, in particular the inadequate state of the drainage system.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree depriving the mayor of Odesa of Ukrainian citizenship in October last year. On the evening of October 12, Trukhanov published a statement that he was going to be deprived of Ukrainian citizenship on the grounds of allegedly holding Russian Federation citizenship.

Анна Бальчінос