Zelensky deprived Trukhanov, Tsarev and Polunin of Ukrainian citizenship – source

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed decrees depriving three people of Ukrainian citizenship – Odesa Mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov, former MP Oleh Tsarev and dancer Serhiy Polunin. This was reported to LIGA.net by a government source.

Earlier, on October 14, the President said that the head of the Security Service of Ukraine Vasyl Malyuk reported on countering Russian agent networks and collaborators in the frontline, border regions and in the south of our country.

"The presence of Russian citizenship in some individuals has also been confirmed – appropriate decisions have been prepared for them. I signed the decree," Zelensky wrote, without specifying.

A government source said that the president had deprived three people of Ukrainian citizenship. These are Trukhanov, as well as Tsarev and Polunin, who fled to Russia.

He clarified that the decrees are not published because they contain personal data.

Trukhanov has been the mayor of Odesa since 2014. Criminal proceedings have been initiated against him for abuses in procurement and financial transactions. The media has repeatedly reported that he has Russian citizenship. Trukhanov has always denied this information and called the published documents fake.

Tsarev is a former member of the Party of Regions. After the Revolution of Dignity, he supported pro-Russian forces. Since 2014, he has been hiding in Russia. In Ukraine, in 2022, Tsarev was sentenced in absentia to 12 years for encroachment on the territorial integrity of Ukraine and for actions aimed at the violent change or overthrow of the constitutional order.

In November 2024, Tsarev was sentenced to eight years in prison in absentia for financing actions aimed at changing the boundaries of the territory or state border. The court also decided to confiscate the former MP's property.

Polunin is a ballet dancer, choreographer and model. He was born in Kherson. At the age of 13, he moved to London to study at the Royal Ballet School. He graduated at the age of 17. In 2012, he left London and moved to Russia .

He openly supported Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and called him an "angel". After the start of the full-scale invasion, Russia supported the aggressor's actions, including the occupation of Kherson.

In December 2024, Polunin announced his departure from Russia, noting that he had "fulfilled his mission there".

• On October 12, Trukhanov recorded a video message, in which he said that a presidential commission was planning to consider revoking his Ukrainian citizenship. At the same time, he denied the information that he had a Russian passport.
• On October 14, a petition calling for the termination of Trukhanov's citizenship gained more than 25,000 votes.