Ukraine's leading English-language newspaper since 1995

Welcoming the local authorities' move to the dark side, Darth Vader has asked for a land plot in the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Odessa to park his space ship. korrespondent.net Welcoming the local authorities' move to the dark side, Darth Vader has asked for a land plot in the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Odessa to park his space ship.

An Odessite dressed as the Star Wars villain visited the mayor's office this week to claim a free land plot citing Ukrainian legislation which grants every citizen the right to own 1,000 square metres of land.

His visit followed a decision by city authorities to grant attractive land plots along the sea coast to a group of people for free, prompting public concerns about corruption, according to local media.

The mayor's office has since said the move was a mistake but has not yet cancelled it, according to local news website Dumskaya.net.

"I am Darth Vader, the right hand of Emperor Palpatine," the man introduced himself to amused policemen, as seen in a video posted on YouTube and accompanied by the Imperial March music.

"...Knowing that many (local legislature) deputies and the mayor have switched to the dark side... I have come for a land plot... for my space cruiser."

Officials accepted the man's application after he showed his passport and removed the black helmet equipped with a voice-distorting device.

"The application has been registered and will be considered," a spokeswoman for the mayor's office told Reuters.

"We are not on the dark side, we are light-side people," she added.