“Tragic Mistake”
The newspaper reported that the Mayor of Dnipro, Boris Filatov, was upset with President Volodymyr Zelensky after it was claimed that Gennady Korban, the head of the Regional Defense Forces in the Dnipropetrovsk region, had revoked Korban’s Ukrainian citizenship. The politics around this issue drew the mayor into a public disagreement about loyalty, legality, and national identity during a time of war.
Filatov said on a broadcast that he viewed the situation as a “tragic mistake,” signaling his concern about how power and authority were being exercised in the heat of conflict.
He warned against centralizing power during the war and asked that the central government not seize the moment to foster autocratic moves. Filatov stressed that Ukrainian politicians have unofficially agreed to unite against Russia, leaving aside personal grievances, yet he insisted that war does not grant permission to usurp power.
Another point of contention for Filatov was his belief that Zelensky underestimated the danger of a Russian invasion for several weeks. He criticized the government for downplaying the threat despite warnings from Western partners and even President Biden. Filatov recalled a forecast that suggested a difficult period ahead, noting that officials told the public to expect hardships, even as the situation grew tense.
Filatov said he acted on the warnings by preparing for a potential military operation by Russia, tracing back to the 2014 annexation of Crimea. He described sending clear instructions to critical infrastructure facilities and gathering experts to discuss contingency plans should communications be disrupted. He also established a volunteer rapid response team to bolster local resilience.
At the same time, the mayor of Dnipro worked closely with the city’s Territorial Defense Forces, led by Gennady Korban. In this collaborative effort, barricades were erected and trenches were dug on the outskirts of the city, reflecting a practical, on-the-ground approach to defense and preparedness.
“I can no longer log in with any documents”
Korban posted on social media that he had restricted border guards from re-entering Ukraine after traveling abroad. Ukrainian media later released footage showing border guards confiscating Ukrainian passports.
Korban asserted that he could not enter with any documents, stating that neither a military ID nor the public service app was valid for entry. He described being effectively stuck at the border and noted that lawyers were evaluating which documents would allow him to return to Poland, as quoted by Strana.ua.
deprivation of citizenship
Ukrainian media reports on July 20 indicated that citizenship had been withdrawn from several figures, including oligarch Igor Kolomoisky, politician Vadim Rabinovich, and businessman Gennady Korban. A deputy from Verkhovna Rada posted a photo on social media purporting to show Zelensky’s decree depriving ten individuals of Ukrainian citizenship.
Alongside Kolomoisky, Korban, and Rabinovich, the list reportedly included a mix of individuals from various backgrounds, such as a native of Syria residing in the Odessa region, a resident of Odessa named Anas Al-Solomat, Elena Eremina from the Zaporozhye region, and Larisa Kol from Odessa who is Moldovan. Other names mentioned were Vyacheslav Lima, born in Uzbekistan and living in Odessa, Galina Rogovenko, a Russian citizen, and Seymur Khuduev, born in Azerbaijan.
On the 28th, the Ukrainian leader stated that deprivation of citizenship is a normal practice, though there was no official confirmation that the decree was authentic. He argued that the state regularly grants and withdraws citizenship as part of ongoing procedures within current law, emphasizing continuity in this issue as a standard administrative process.