A petition demanding the termination of Ukrainian citizenship for Odesa Mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov has gathered over 27,000 signatures on the official website of the president within a day. The required minimum was 25,000 votes, which allows the document to be submitted for consideration.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Reasons for the Initiative and Details of the Allegations
The author of the petition, Myroslav Otkovych, a journalist, serviceman, and press officer of the 241st Separate Brigade of Territorial Defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, emphasizes numerous journalistic investigations. Open sources have repeatedly published materials claiming that Hennadiy Trukhanov holds a passport of the Russian Federation and a Russian tax number. According to the petition’s initiators, these circumstances indicate the possible dual citizenship of the mayor, which contradicts the Constitution of Ukraine.
“Open sources have repeatedly featured journalistic investigations that contain data about Hennadiy Trukhanov having a passport of the Russian Federation and a Russian tax number. These facts indicate that Hennadiy Trukhanov has dual citizenship, which contradicts the Constitution of Ukraine, which establishes the principle of single citizenship. In the context of a full-scale war with the Russian Federation, such a situation creates potential risks for national security and undermines citizens’ trust in local authorities,” the petition states.
The document also calls on the President of Ukraine to verify the provided information regarding Trukhanov’s possible dual citizenship and, if confirmed, to apply the measures prescribed by law.
Reaction of Hennadiy Trukhanov
Hennadiy Trukhanov himself stated on October 12 that another provocation is being prepared against him. He emphasized that information about his alleged citizenship of the Russian Federation has been circulating since 2014 and assured that he does not have and has never had Russian citizenship. According to the mayor, all relevant Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly conducted checks, and no violations have been found. Trukhanov also noted that, apart from Ukrainian citizenship, he does not hold any other citizenship and has been on Russia’s sanctions lists since 2018 as a citizen of Ukraine.
The issue of possible dual citizenship has been raised multiple times in the media and public investigations. Last year, volunteer and blogger Serhiy Sternenko, citing his own sources, claimed that Trukhanov may have held Russian citizenship and received a Russian bank card in February 2022. According to Sternenko, he obtained this information from “leaked Russian databases.”
As early as 2016, the Odesa branch of the Security Service of Ukraine reported that it could not establish the presence of a Russian passport for Trukhanov. Despite these suspicions, Hennadiy Trukhanov regularly denies allegations of holding any citizenship other than Ukrainian.