The case over Trukhanov’s citizenship: ex-mayor alleged procedural falsifications

Former Odesa mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov claimed there were violations in the case to strip him of citizenship. According to him, the commission at the President’s Office could not have had lawful documents, since delivering them from Odesa to Kyiv in one day was physically impossible.

What violations did Trukhanov allege? As the former city head recounted, the parties’ arguments concluded in the Supreme Court, and the court moved to directly examine the case materials. At that stage new facts emerged regarding the procedure for documents coming from the Security Service of Ukraine. The ex-mayor said that documents from the SBU arrived at the Migration Service (DMS) in Odesa region on Friday 10 October at 17:47, that is, after working hours. In fact, agency staff first saw them electronically only on Monday, 13 October. Under the law, the regional office was supposed to study the materials, verify them, prepare a submission and forward it to the DMS central office, and from there—to the Commission at the President of Ukraine. Trukhanov stressed that the transfer had to take place exclusively via secure courier—originals, with signatures and wet stamps. His defense insists that it was physically and legally impossible to conduct a proper verification and deliver the originals by secure courier to the capital in one day. In view of this, the former mayor asserts that not only the evidence itself but the entire procedure for its formalization was falsified. Separately, Trukhanov drew attention to the fact that the relevant Commission was chaired by former Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Iryna Mudra, whom he called a figure in criminal proceedings who recently left pre-trial detention. Read also: Trukhanov again spoke about the Russian passport: "I already thought a full stop had been put" The next Supreme Court hearing in this case is scheduled for 17 November. According to the ex-mayor, his side will continue to prove its position with facts and evidence. Why Trukhanov was deprived of citizenship In October 2025 the president issued a decree terminating Hennadiy Trukhanov’s Ukrainian citizenship; at that time he held the office of mayor of Odesa. The Commission at the President of Ukraine on citizenship matters adopted the decision based on SBU materials. According to the security service’s version, Trukhanov holds Russian citizenship and an active Russian international passport issued on 15 December 2015. The SBU also claimed he has a Russian tax identification number. Trukhanov himself denies these claims. He has stressed he never had Russian citizenship, called the published documents forged, and appealed the decision to terminate his Ukrainian citizenship in the Supreme Court.

Earlier the ex-mayor also said that state bodies provided the Supreme Court with uncertified copies of documents which, he argued, cannot be considered proper evidence.