Serhiy Lysak, head of the Odesa Military Administration, issued a series of land-use orders for municipal utilities and educational institutions without the involvement of the city council. The military administration took this step due to disputes among council members, who failed twice in a row to convene a session to address critical issues facing the city.
This was reported by Serhiy Lysak, head of the Odesa Military Administration.
An order from the city military administration is an official directive issued solely by the head of the military administration in lieu of the mayor and the city council during martial law. This document allows for the rapid allocation of budget funds—without votes or sessions—the imposition of a curfew, the maintenance of public utilities and transportation services, and the cleanup of damage caused by shelling. All businesses and residents of the community are required to comply with these decisions, as they have the force of law within the city limits.
Earlier, Councilman Oleksiy Potapskyy expressed the view that if the situation blocking the city council’s work continues, the Verkhovna Rada may eventually decide to dissolve it.
Two governing bodies currently operate in parallel in Odesa—the Odesa City Council with its executive bodies and the Odesa City Military Administration. For the residents of Odesa, the city council is the familiar structure of local self-government. The military administration was established in the city only in October 2025, when the President of Ukraine issued a decree establishing the Odesa City Military Administration (hereinafter “OCMA”) for the Odesa District of Odesa Oblast. Intent examined the issue of the division of powers between the City Council and the Odesa City Military Administration. With this article, we continued our series of publications dedicated to the work of local self-government.
Юлія Калабайда
