Former Odesa Mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov, who was stripped of his Ukrainian citizenship earlier this year and subsequently removed from office, has been served with a notice of suspicion over alleged negligence related to deadly flooding in the city, several Ukrainian outlets reported.
According to Suspilne, citing its sources, prosecutors handed the notice to Trukhanov on Tuesday, Oct. 28. Odesa-based media outlet Dumska, referring to journalist Iryna Hryb, reported that the notice was delivered in the parking lot of the Ark Spa residential complex.
Trukhanov is allegedly accused of official negligence that led to serious consequences under Part 3, Article 367 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code. The charge concerns the massive flooding that hit Odesa on Sept. 30, when nearly two months’ worth of rain fell in just seven hours, leaving nine people dead and prompting a red-level weather alert.
According to Dumska and Hryb, law enforcement officers also carried out searches at the city administration on Tuesday. The court is expected to decide on a pretrial measure for Trukhanov on Wednesday.
Ukrainska Pravda, citing its own sources, reported that seven of Trukhanov’s former subordinates – including two of his deputies – were also served with notices of suspicion on the same evening.
Trukhanov, who served as Odesa’s mayor from 2014 to 2024, has previously faced several corruption-related investigations. He was deprived of Ukrainian citizenship by a decree issued by President Volodymyr Zelensky on Oct. 14, along with that of former lawmaker Oleg Tsaryov, and ballet dancer Sergei Polunin.
The reason – confirmed following an investigation by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) – was the illegal retention of Russian citizenship.
Trukhanov denied accusations and called the decision to revoke his Ukrainian citizenship “a falsification,” saying he plans to challenge it in court.
This extraordinary event is the latest in a catalogue of wartime clashes between central government and local, regional and city-based authorities that have seen several mayors, including those from Chernihiv, Mukachevo, and Cherkasy, losing their positions.
The circumstances behind the removal of Trukhanov are unique, but under Ukrainian law, an individual who has been stripped of his citizenship simply cannot serve as mayor.