“Trukhanov says that he does not avoid responsibility, but emphasizes that “it was a natural disaster, the scale of which exceeded the capabilities of any system.””, — write: www.radiosvoboda.org
“Regarding handing over to me, I am “suspicious”. This situation came as a surprise to me. We worked by the minute – the city council, services, utility workers. Odesa residents were warned about the downpour, but the message from the hydrometeorological center arrived when people, unfortunately, died,” he wrote in a telegram.
Trukhanov declares that he does not avoid responsibility, but emphasizes that “it was a natural disaster, the scale of which exceeded the capabilities of any system.”
“The water drainage problem in Odesa is truly catastrophic, and its solution requires billions of hryvnias of investment and state support. The city alone will never be able to cope with this,” he added.
On October 29, the Odesa Regional Prosecutor’s Office reported that the former mayor of Odesa, Gennady Trukhanov, received a report of suspicion of official negligence, namely improper performance of official duties, which caused the death of people (Part 3, Article 367 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
According to the investigation, the exhibitor improperly performed his official duties and did not ensure the full functioning of engineering networks in the city. According to the prosecutor’s office, being aware of this systematic problem, the suspect did not take measures to timely repair the drainage system, drainage and drainage systems, and on the day of the tragedy, September 30, 2025, the mayor did not organize proper notification and informing the population about the threat of an emergency situation.
Read also: Odesa: the duties of the mayor will be performed by the secretary of the city council, Ihor Koval
After the tragedy, Gennadiy Trukhanov wrote that in seven hours on September 30, almost two months’ worth of precipitation fell in the city, and “no storm sewer is capable of withstanding such a load.”
Nine people, including a child, died in Odesa and Odesa district due to heavy rains.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said that he instructed the Minister of Community and Territorial Development to “conduct a full inspection of work in Odesa.”
On October 14, the SBU published data on Trukhanov’s Russian citizenship, on the basis of which his Ukrainian citizenship was terminated. Trukhanov denies having Russian citizenship and announced his intention to contest the deprivation of his Ukrainian citizenship.
On October 16, it became known that the duties of the mayor of Odesa will be performed by the secretary of the city council, Ihor Koval.