An unexpected twist has emerged in the case surrounding the revocation of Odesa Mayor Gennady Trukhanov’s Ukrainian citizenship. Investigative journalist Christo Grozev from Bellingcat stated that the Russian passport, an image of which was published by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and used as grounds for revoking Trukhanov’s Ukrainian citizenship, is a fake.
According to Grozev, the document is part of “active measures by Moscow’s special services” aimed at discrediting the mayor.
Meanwhile, the publication The Insider reported on Trukhanov’s documents, stating that “according to Russian databases, Trukhanov did indeed hold a Russian passport, or rather, even two: the first, with a number starting 4604, is listed as issued on April 15, 2003, and subsequently lost, and a second, with a number starting 4611, was issued on March 24, 2011, by the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for Moscow Oblast ‘in lieu of the lost one.’ The application for this passport, also available to The Insider, states ‘due to reaching 45 years of age’.”
The publication further detailed: “However, the copy of the foreign passport published by the SBU is an obvious fake. The document’s number indicates it was issued on November 2, 2010 (and not in December 2015) — and indeed, a passport with that number was issued on that day, but to a completely different person — a Russian woman named Tatyana, who subsequently traveled successfully using this passport. The perpetrators of the forgery even forgot that the name Gennady is also transliterated with two ‘n’s in Latin letters. Judging by border crossing data, after the war began in 2014, Trukhanov did not visit Russia (at least not under his own name), and there is no data indicating he possesses any current Russian foreign passport. It is likely that if Trukhanov had decided to visit Russia after 2014, he could have faced problems there: according to Russian databases, Russian special services were interested in Trukhanov due to his ‘involvement in the development of Ukrainian events in 2013–2014’ (whatever that may mean).”
Trukhanov: ‘This is a Moral Execution’
Gennady Trukhanov has also refuted the SBU’s statement regarding his alleged Russian citizenship, vowing to defend his position through Ukrainian courts, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), international and human rights organizations, as well as in the United States.
During a briefing on October 15, Trukhanov called the revocation of his citizenship a “moral execution,” emphasizing that he “had no passports whatsoever. Neither Greek nor Russian. I never had a Russian passport or citizenship.”
“I think that if they’ve said ‘A,’ they’ll also do ‘B.’ If they want to destroy a person, they’ll destroy them cynically and demonstratively, so that all other Ukrainian officials will shrink back and realize there are no rights in our country. There’s not even a right to defense,” he stated.
Trukhanov also noted: “I remain the city mayor today. Until the deputies at the session accept this information, I will continue to fulfill my duties. Today, we have a meeting to prepare for the winter period.”
Does Odesa Now Have Two Mayors?
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the creation of a city military administration in Odesa, appointing Serhiy Lysak as its head. Lysak previously served as the head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Administration.
