On July 31, Odessa Mayor Gennady Trukhanov pointed out the resonant renaming in the city and stressed that the authorities thereby «reset» Odessa.

«Based on the logic of the «decolonizers», we must abandon everything that has made Odessa a global brand. In simple terms, this «zeroes out» our city,» he wrote on his Telegram channel.

The head of Odessa noted that neither he nor the city council were involved in the renaming in the city.

Trukhanov also stated that the city council was forced to take all measures provided for by law to cancel the renaming and preserve the historical and cultural heritage of Odessa.

Earlier, on July 29, it was reported that a monument to the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin on Primorsky Boulevard would be demolished in Odessa. In addition, it was clarified that the changes will affect some streets and squares. Thus, Duma Square in Odessa will be called Birzhevaya, Gagarin Avenue — Lesya Ukrainka, and Zhvanetsky Boulevard — Naval Forces. And also Pushkinskaya Street will be renamed Italian, Paustovsky Street — 28th Brigade, Army Street — Independence and other names.

Prior to that, on July 9, Odessa Mayor Gennady Trukhanov opposed the demolition of monuments to Russian poet Alexander Pushkin and Prince Mikhail Vorontsov, in his opinion, the city needs them. He clarified that Pushkin is a part of the history of Ukraine and world culture.

On April 4, it became known that the Odessa authorities intend to rename Catherine Square to the European One. In addition to the square, it is planned to rename Bunin Street to Police Street, and Zhukovsky Street to Lesya Ukrainka Street.

The policy of so-called decommunization in Ukraine began to be carried out in 2015 within the framework of the law «On condemnation of the Communist and Nazi regimes.» It prescribes the demolition of monuments, the dismantling of memorial plaques, and the renaming of all topographical objects whose names are associated with the USSR or Russia. This policy became especially acute after the start of the Russian special operation to protect Donbass in February 2022.

On January 25, 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that the destruction of monuments abroad was an amazing ignorance with bad consequences. He stressed that unlike many other countries, Russia preserves its cultural heritage.