SUMMARY: Zelenskyy creates city military administration of Odesa, appoints Lysak as its head

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has signed a decree on the creation of a military administration in the city of Odesa and an order on the appointment of Serhiy Lysak, who was previously the head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration, as its head.

BACKGROUND: STRIPPING MAYOR OF ODESA OF UKRAINIAN CITIZENSHIP

On Tuesday, October 14, the Commission under the President of Ukraine on Citizenship Issues adopted a decision to terminate the citizenship of Ukraine of the Mayor of Odesa, Hennadiy Trukhanov, who, as it turned out, is a citizen of the Russian Federation and has a valid foreign passport of the aggressor country. Such a decision, in particular, is based on the evidence base of the Security Service of Ukraine and was approved by the decree of the President of Ukraine.

Earlier on Monday, Trukhanov said that he feared the deprivation of his Ukrainian citizenship and warned that disinformation was being prepared against him regarding the alleged presence of Russian citizenship. He noted that this issue has been raised since 2014 and since then he has constantly explained that he does not have and has never had Russian citizenship, and that he was checked for it by all relevant Ukrainian authorities. The mayor of Odesa called this another provocation and appealed to all authorized bodies. "Conduct a legal and thorough check. I ask the president and competent services to carefully look at the documents and establish the truth," Trukhanov urged.

Nevertheless, on Tuesday, Zelenskyy signed decrees on the deprivation of Ukrainian citizenship of Trukhanov, as well as people's deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of the IV-VII convocations Oleh Tsarev and ballet dancer Serhiy Polunin. He also stated that Odesa would receive greater protection and greater support in the format of a city military administration.

On the same day, responding to a petition on the creation of the Odessa City Military Administration on the website of the head of state, which was supported by more than 25 thousand citizens, the president announced that he had instructed the head of the Odesa Regional Military Administration, Oleh Kiper, and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrsky, to verify the facts set forth in the petition, in particular, that in the relevant territorial communities "local self-government bodies do not exercise or improperly exercise their powers or there is a threat to their functioning," which could serve as a basis for the creation of military administrations of certain settlements.

Trukhanov stated that he planned to continue exercising his powers until the city council terminated them. He also stated that the termination of his Ukrainian citizenship was a "falsification" and planned to file lawsuits with Ukrainian courts, as well as the European Court of Human Rights.

CREATION OF A CITY MILITARY ADMINISTRATION

Head of the Odesa Regional Military Administration Oleh Kiper announced on Wednesday, October 15, that he had submitted a proposal to create a military administration in the city of Odesa.

"In order not to delay the process, I submitted a proposal to create a military administration - this gives the head of the newly created administration more powers, who will instantly respond to the challenges that we are facing today during the war and shelling," Kiper said on the air of a national telethon on Wednesday.

Commenting on the information not yet confirmed at that time regarding the appointment of Serhiy Lysak, who headed the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Administration, to the position of head of this military administration, Kiper said said that "there is a decision of the military command regarding the fact that this position would be taken by a person who was born in the city of Odesa, an experienced officer who has combat experience and who will only be of help to our residents in these difficult times." At the same time, Kiper refused to comment on the decision to deprive Trukhanov of Ukrainian citizenship, noting that this would be done by the authorized bodies on the basis of the documents at their disposal.

When asked what Zelenskyy meant when he said that Odesa needed more attention, he replied: "Of course, these are the challenges facing society that the war presents us with. Today, helping people is a priority."

According to Kiper, currently in Odessa "there is light, there is water, all problems that arise are resolved in a normal manner."

APPOINTMENT OF LYSAK AS HEAD OF ODESA CITY MILITARY ADMINISTRATION

Immediately after Kiper's statement, an order was published on the website of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, by which the head of state appointed Serhiy Lysak, who previously held the position of head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration, as head of the Odesa City Military Administration.

"To appoint Serhiy Petrovych Lysak as head of the Odesa City Military Administration of the Odesa District of the Odesa Region," reads the text of order No. 119/2025-rp dated October 15, 2025, published on the president's website.

The decree No. 787/2025 Zelenskyy dismissed Lysak from the position of Head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration "in accordance with his application."