Gennadiy Trukhanov, the mayor of Odesa, Ukraine, had his Ukrainian citizenship revoked by Zelenskyy based on information provided by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). The information indicated that Gennadiy Trukhanov held a Russian passport issued in Crimea, and the SBU provided screenshots of Trukhanov's Russian passport as well as responses from Russian officials. However, many people noticed traces of image editing in these screenshots (including photos).
Because Gennadiy Trukhanov lost his Ukrainian nationality, he also lost the right to serve as mayor. However, Trukhanov claimed that his legal rights were violated and therefore planned to continue serving as mayor of Odesa until the institution that appointed him as mayor terminated his power.
Trukhanov explained this during a speech to the residents of Odesa: "If I am deprived of Ukrainian citizenship, my authority as mayor will end after the city council passes a resolution. This is stipulated in paragraph 11 of Article 79 of the Law on Ukrainian Local Self-Government. Until then, I will continue to exercise the powers of a mayor elected by the community." Therefore, Trukhanov remained in the mayor's office and refused to leave. As a result, Gennadiy Trukhanov is now in a confrontation with the Ukrainian government. It remains to be seen what Zelenskyy will do next—will he order the SBU to arrest Trukhanov, or will he "persuade" the Odesa City Council to remove Trukhanov from his mayoral position?
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1846061568322560/
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