The announcement was made during Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to the southern front, notably to troops in the village of Robotyne, recaptured from Russian forces in August 2023 but which is now relentlessly attacked by Russian forces.
“The head of state introduced the new head of the Zaporizhzhia regional administration Ivan Federov, who was mayor of the temporarily occupied Melitopol since December 2020 and who was detained by the Russians
,” the presidency announced in a statement. communicated.
Ivan Fedorov, 35, was kidnapped in March 2022 by the Russian army which had just entered the city after refusing to cooperate with Moscow.
He was exchanged for a group of young Russian soldiers that same month.
The town of Melitopol, located 130 km south of Zaporizhia, fell to the Russians in the first weeks following the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Ivan Fedorov, who replaces Governor Yuriy Malashko, declared that his
“goal is to allow everyone who really wants to return home to be able to do so as quickly as possible
,” according to the presidency.
Located approximately 50 km from the front and territories controlled by Russian forces, the large city of Zaporizhia was the target of deadly attacks.
The Zaporizhia region is one of four to have been annexed by Russia, but is not fully controlled by Moscow.