Ivan Fedorov, Mayor of Melitopol, who was kidnapped by the Russians on March 11, recounted his kidnapping and the arrival of Moscow forces in the Ukrainian city. “I am very grateful to the international community and the President of Ukraine for his role as mediator, another 29 elected officials are still in the hands of the Russian aggressor,” Fedorov told Bfmtv. “They arrested me because they were accused of financing the Ukrainian Radical Party he continued but I don’t know of their existence.” When they kidnapped him, they cut off all means of communication and with him were other kidnappers, whose screams of torture he heard. He then explained that the “bargaining chip” for his release was the exchange with nine Russian prisoners. Furthermore, Russian soldiers reportedly told him that they had heard that WWII veterans had been beaten and that they were there to capture the Nazis, indicating that several Russians believe in the reason for Putin’s denazification . He would have replied that he had never met one in 30 years. Fedorov thanked and finally commended the courage of the citizens of Melitopol who demonstrated against his kidnapping.
Who is Ivan Fedorov, the mayor who was kidnapped?
Ivan Fedorov was released on March 16 after he was kidnapped on suspicion of financing terrorist activities, belonging to a criminal organization and refusing to lower the Ukrainian flag. His kidnapping prompted Ukrainian citizens to take to the streets demanding his release. The organizer of the march, Olga Gaisumova, was also kidnapped. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked European countries for help in mediating with Moscow. The mayor was replaced by Galina Danilschenko, a former city councilwoman.
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