Ukraine Focuses on Black Sea Security Amid Odesa City Council Changes

Ukrainians closely followed the events in Saudi Arabia. No one received answers to all questions, but the attention to the Black Sea was obvious. It was the focus of the week. Personnel changes in the Odesa City Council drew attention in the region, mobilization policy intensified, and disputes over the work of the TCC continued in Odesa.

The focus of the week

Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine

• On March 24, talks between Ukraine, Russia, and the United States began in Riyadh. On the same day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that, in particular, representatives of the United States and Russia would discuss ensuring the safety of navigation in the Black Sea.
• Following the talks, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said that the parties had agreed to ensure safe navigation, stop the use of force and prevent the use of commercial vessels for military purposes in the Black Sea.
• The Kremlin said in a statement that the clauses on security in the Black Sea and the resumption of Russian agricultural exports would take effect after sanctions against Rosselkhozbank, Russian food producers and exporters were lifted.
• Volodymyr Guz, head of the Odesa regional organization of the Committee of Voters of Ukraine and commercial director of Global Ocean Link, commented on the situation to Int.

Minus Kasimov plus Novikova

Photo: Depositphotos

• On March 22, Hennadiy Trukhanov dismissed Marat Kasimov, the first deputy director of the Department of Architecture and Urban Planning of the Odesa City Council, from his post.
• The reason is that he was detained while receiving a $10,000 bribe.
• On March 23, the mayor of Odesa dismissed Nadiya Novikova, director of the Department of Land Resources of the Odesa City Council, and transferred her to the position of interim director of the Department of Architecture and Urban Planning of the Odesa City Council.
• Victoria Seriogina, First Deputy Director of the Department of Land Resources, was appointed to head the Department.

TCC and mobilization in the spotlight

Collage: Intent

On March 23, the regional TCC commented on a video of a group of women arguing with TCC soldiers who pinned a man to the ground and covered his mouth. According to the military, during the identification process, it turned out that the citizen was wanted for evading military duty. Instead of helping to establish the circumstances, he tried to escape twice, which led to the incident.

On March 24, the Odesa resident called the patrol police to report that he had been beaten by unknown persons, and he was detained and taken to the Khadzhibey detention center. The fact is that when the patrol police arrived at the scene, they found out that the applicant, with signs of alcohol intoxication, had entered one of the public catering establishments and started a conflict. Then the police began to check the applicant's documents and found out that he was wanted under Article 210 (Violation of the legislation on military duty and military service by persons liable for military service or conscription).

On the same day, it became known that the shortage of public transportation drivers had reached a critical level of 50%. The fact is that private carriers in Odesa have found themselves in a difficult situation - new salary requirements make it impossible to book drivers, which jeopardizes the stable operation of public transportation.

Police officers notified the deputy head of the medical advisory commission of a hospital in Podil district of Odesa region of suspicion. The doctor offered the citizen to help his acquaintance, a soldier in one of the military units, to leave the service for health reasons. The price was 6 thousand US dollars.

In Odesa, another scandal broke out near the collection point of the regional TCC and JV on Zankovetska Street. According to the CCC, on March 26, a group of unidentified persons prevented a bus carrying conscripts from leaving the collection point.

On March 28, it became known that the municipal enterprises of Odesa City Council are facing staffing problems due to mobilization, but have mostly received reservations for 50% of their employees. Three city utilities have not yet received reservations. These are the Odesa Development Programs Agency, the Waste Management Service Administrator, and the City Agency for Housing Privatization.

Eight courts in Odesa region to change their names

Photo: Suspilne

• Ukraine has adopted a law on the decommunization of courts. In four regions of the south of the country, 20 institutions were renamed.
• The law comes into force on April 25, 2025, 30 days after its official publication.

Odesa region:

• Illichivsk City Court will become the Black Sea City Court;
• Yuzhne City Court will be renamed Pivdenne City Court;
• Kotovskyi City District Court will be renamed Podilskyi City District Court;
• Krasnooknyansky District Court will become the Oknyansky District Court;
• Kominternivskyi District Court will change its name to Dobroslavskyi District Court;
• Frunzivskyi District Court will be renamed Zakharovskyi District Court;
• Malynovskyi District Court of Odesa will be renamed Khadzhibeyskyi District Court;
• Suvorovskyi District Court of Odesa will become Peresypskyi District Court.

"Back then we were candidates for citizenship" - Vakhtang Kipiani

Intenta journalist talked to Vakhtang Kipiani about the resistance to the Communist Party from students, pressure on journalists, changing society and the ultimate goal of the war.

Interesting:

• There was no cult in my family to listen to every episode of Radio Liberty or Voice of America, but we did. There was no passion, just a desire to learn something new.
• Mykolaiv, in the late 80s, was a deeply communist city, it was called Red Mykolaiv.
• I have no illusions about the quality of communists in the late Soviet Union.
• It is unnatural for a Soviet person to be against the system, just as it is unnatural for a modern Russian person, because they no longer remember when protests achieved their goals.
• The enemy does not show ceremony with Ukrainians. He blows up where he can blow up, sets fire to where he can set fire to.
• Now there is no need to argue about where the borders will be. They will be where the Ukrainian soldier will stand and where Ukrainian society will help this soldier to fight.

Ігор Льов