The Ukrainian government says it has staged a rescue of the mayor of the southern city of Melitopol, who was detained by armed men in the Russian-occupied city on March 11.
“A special operation to release the mayor of Melitopol Ivan Fedorov has just been successfully completed. Vanya is safe. We just talked to him together with the president and the head of the Office. I would like to say only one thing – we never leave our people. Ivan will return to his duties as mayor of Ukrainian Melitopol very soon,” Kyrylo Tymoshenko, a senior official in President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office, said in a message on his Telegram channel.
Another video showed a smiling Zelensky speaking on the phone to someone identified by his office as Fedorov.
More background: Russian troops gained control of Melitopol on Feb. 26. On March 11, armed men detained the elected mayor Fedorov and later that day the prosecutor’s office for the Russian-backed separatist Luhansk region accused him on terrorism charges.
Since then, newly installed mayor Galina Danilchenko has ordered the broadcasting of Russian television channels and attempted to dissolve the city council and instead create a People’s Committee.
Ukraine’s prosecutor general opened a treason investigation into Danilchenko on March 13.
READ MORE
- Ukraine Says Russian military is targeting civilians
- Two Russian Military transport planes shot down over Ukraine.
- more-usa-heavily-armed-troops-on-the-way-to-europe
