Protesters chanted messages reflecting their desire for the
city to be ran by a Ukrainian citizen, viewing Trukhanov as a broadly
pro-Russian political figure. One of their slogans is “Odesa without Pushkin,”
a reference to Trukhanov’s past opposition to removing a monument to the
Russian poet in central Odesa. The rally was organized by the civic group We
Make You Nervous.
Other local outlets reported that a separate group of demonstrators also gathered outside the mayor’s office.
Trukhanov was stripped of his citizenship earlier the same day, after Ukraine’s SBU security service published evidence of him still being a citizen of the Russian Federation. The mayor said that he will remain in office until Odesa City Council votes to remove him. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, however, stated he will soon appoint someone to administer the city.