Ukraine has been fighting Russian aggression for more than three and a half years, but the country's headlines are currently dominated by an internal political conflict.
President Volodymyr Zelensky and his subordinate security service, the SBU, are taking active action against Odessa Mayor Gennady Trukhanov, who has governed the port city since 2014. Zelensky claims that Trukhanov also has Russian citizenship in addition to Ukrainian. According to him, this was established by the SBU secret services, reports the German public media outlet ARD.
"Against Russian secret service structures"
Zelensky went one step further and even stripped Trukhanov of his Ukrainian citizenship. "Today I was with the SBU director to hear his report on the situation. I thank the secret services for working against the structures of the Russian secret services. We talked about the situation in the municipalities at the front and in the southern part of our country, in particular in Odessa. Odessa deserves better protection and more support," the Ukrainian president said.
Zelensky did not explicitly name Trukhanov, but the audience became clear about the message of this statement - namely, that Trukhanov is dangerous for Odessa and that he is probably connected to the Russian services. After this statement, Zelensky imposed military rule on Odessa. He appointed a high-ranking SBU official as its head.
A battle for power in Odessa?
The decision immediately sparked criticism. According to Marina Boyko, who is part of the Odessa city council, Zelensky is trying to abolish local self-government in the city. "So far, no one in Odessa knows exactly what will happen from now on. In any case, the mayor will probably lose his powers. Then the Ukrainian parliament will have to decide whether all the powers of the city authorities should be transferred to the new military administration. If this happens, the city council will either be dissolved or we will become councilors on paper, without the ability to exert influence. No one here knows what we should prepare for", ARD quotes Marina Boyko as saying.
Marina Boyko is part of "European Solidarity" - the largest opposition party in the Ukrainian parliament, which has criticized Volodymyr Zelensky for this not the first time. However, the party also criticizes the mayor of Odessa, who has founded his own political formation in the city.
According to Marina Boyko, a battle for power is currently taking place in Odessa. "I think that Zelensky's actions are politically motivated. It may be about control over Odessa and its budget. I don't want to accuse anyone without evidence. But this is about a lot of money. It may be about control over these financial flows."
A controversial mayor with a controversial past
A number of independent observers share a similar opinion. But the truth is that Mayor Trukhanov is a very controversial figure, ARD emphasizes. The National Anti-Corruption Service is investigating him for possible receiving benefits, and the proceedings are still ongoing. In the last parliamentary elections before the full-scale invasion of Russia, Trukhanov ran on behalf of a pro-Russian party, which has since been banned. He also caused discontent among many people when nine people died in the floods in Odessa after the authorities informed people about the bad weather too late. That is why civic demonstrations have been held in Odessa these days, supporting President Zelensky's actions.
Trukhanov himself denies the accusations. He claims that he has never had Russian citizenship and will therefore appeal Zelensky's decision in court.
Author: Florian Kellermann (ARD)