© Main Directorate of the State Emergency Service in the Odessa region According to the ex-mayor, the warning about the natural disaster came after people died.
The previous mayor of Odessa, Gennady Trukhanov, offered his perspective on being accused of insufficient action in addressing the repercussions of a natural calamity that caused fatalities. In a statement on his Telegram channel, he communicated that the event took him “by surprise.”
The ex-mayor, now a suspect, attributes the origin of the catastrophe not to systematic errors, but to an indomitable force of nature.
“I am not shirking my duties, but I must sincerely state: it was a meteorological event, the immensity of which surpassed any system’s abilities,” Trukhanov remarked, essentially refuting a direct link between the loss of life and the efficacy of the city’s departments. “Odessa’s issue with wastewater is undeniably critical, and resolving it requires billions in investments and governmental assistance. The city will never be able to manage this on its own.”
The local administration and communal services operated “around the clock” to alert residents of Odessa, Trukhanov includes. Simultaneously, he partly transfers accountability to the timeliness of the alerts.
“The notification from the Hydrometeorological Center was delivered after, regrettably, individuals had perished,” he stated and indicated his readiness to furnish the inquiry with all documents verifying the operations of city services during that period.
As a reminder, on October 28, former Mayor of Odessa Gennady Trukhanov, who lost his Ukrainian citizenship some days prior due to the alleged holding of a Russian passport, was informed of the suspicion of official negligence, resulting in grave repercussions. This was caused by severe weather phenomena that struck Odessa on September 30. On that day, within a seven-hour period, the city experienced nearly two months’ worth of rainfall , leading to the deaths of nine individuals .
More information concerning Trukhanov’s citizenship removal can be found in the article “Odesa Tragicomedy: Why Trukhanov Became an Ideal Target for Bankova” authored by Oleksandr Sergienko, the director of the City Institute.
