As described in this video interview with the ex Mayor of Odessa:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43LZbZvCciw
This is a very dense and nuanced political monologue. Let’s break down what the speaker, the ex-mayor of Odesa, is saying about the “fake passport thing.”
The short answer is: He is explicitly claiming it was a plot by Ukrainian authorities (specifically, the office of President Zelenskyy and his chief of staff, Yermak) to frame and discredit the head of Ukraine’s own Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office.
He is not saying it was Russian scammers or a Russian operation. In fact, he praises Russian special services for foiling this Ukrainian plot.
Here is a detailed, point-by-point explanation of his argument:
The Overall Context
The speaker is discussing a corruption scandal in Ukraine. He argues that President Zelenskyy and his inner circle feel threatened by the independent anti-corruption institutions in Ukraine (like the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine – NABU, and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office – SAPO). He claims Zelenskyy’s team wanted to gain control over these bodies to shut down their investigations.
The “Fake Passport” Scheme – Step by Step
According to the speaker, here’s what the plan was:
The Precedent: First, the Ukrainian government needed a legal pretext to remove someone from a high-ranking official position. They created this precedent by allegedly finding a Russian passport for the mayor of Odesa, Trukhanov, and using that to strip him of his Ukrainian citizenship and, consequently, his mayor's office. (The speaker, as an enemy of the Kyiv regime, was removed separately).
The Target: The next target was the head of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP). The plan was to use the same method: produce a fake Russian passport in his name.
The Execution: A criminal group was hired to create a high-quality, physical fake of a Russian passport. The speaker emphasizes:
It was on real, authentic Russian passport blanks that the group had somehow obtained.
All the stamps and details were perfect.
The only flaw was that this passport number was not registered in the official Russian database. It was a physical forgery.
The Planned "Reveal": The head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), Malyuk, was supposed to take this fake passport, hold a press conference, and present it as real, undeniable proof that the anti-corruption prosecutor was a Russian agent. This would have been the "smoking gun."
The Goal: With this "evidence," they could then:
Fire the anti-corruption prosecutor.
Install a loyalist (the "first deputy" who is a "best friend of Yermak") in his place.
This new loyalist would then take control of all the corruption cases from NABU and shut them down, thus protecting Zelenskyy and Yermak from investigations.Who Does The (ex) Mayor Blame?
The Planners: The leadership in Kyiv—Zelenskyy and his chief of staff, Andriy Yermak. He states they "knew everything" and "developed the scheme."
The Intended Beneficiaries: Zelenskyy and Yermak, who would be protected from anti-corruption investigations.
The Intended Perpetrator of the "Reveal": The SBU under Vasyl Malyuk, who was supposedly going to present the fake passport as real evidence.Who Does He Praise?
"Our Special Services": He explicitly praises Russian special services for uncovering the criminal group that was making the passports and arresting them. From his pro-Russian perspective, they "worked well" and "prevented" the plot at the last moment.Summary of His Claim
In essence, he is describing a false-flag operation orchestrated from within the Ukrainian government. The plan was to use a convincingly forged Russian passport to falsely accuse a key anti-corruption official of being a Russian agent, thereby giving Zelenskyy’s team a pretext to fire him and take control of the anti-corruption bodies.
He frames this as a cynical internal power play by the Kyiv regime, which was only stopped because Russian intelligence luckily busted the forgery ring before the fake passport could be used.