Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday stripped the citizenship of Odessa Mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov, who the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) said also held Russian citizenship, Reuters reported.
Trukhanov denied having Russian citizenship and said he would take the case to court.
Ukraine prohibits its citizens from holding Russian citizenship, and Trukhanov - mayor of Ukraine's largest port city since 2014 - has faced accusations of dual citizenship throughout his political career.
"I now have evidence that I was unable, neither physically nor legally, to obtain Russian citizenship or a passport," Trukhanov told public broadcaster Suspilne.
The SBU said the decision to strip Trukhanov of his citizenship was based on evidence provided by the service that Trukhanov had a valid Russian passport. A photo was posted on Telegram showing a copy of the page of a Russian passport with Trukhanov's name and face.
Trukhanov has also been under investigation since 2017 for alleged embezzlement, which he denies.
A source familiar with the matter said Zelensky had also stripped two other people of their Ukrainian citizenship. Under the Ukrainian constitution, the president has the authority to strip citizens of their citizenship.
"The Russian citizenship of certain individuals has been confirmed – appropriate decisions have been prepared in relation to them. The decree has been signed," the president wrote on Telegram, without naming names.
Oleksiy Goncharenko, an opposition lawmaker from Odessa and a harsh critic of Zelensky, said Trukhanov "has many questions to answer," but still condemned the revocation of his citizenship.
"Today they will take Trukhanov and we will all rejoice because he is bad, but tomorrow this machine of repression will turn against those who are undesirable," Goncharenko wrote on Telegram.
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