On Sunday, February 4, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the Zaporizhzhia region, where he visited the positions of soldiers of the 65th mechanized brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine near the village of Robotyne, and also held a meeting with the military command and heads of law enforcement agencies in the region. At the beginning of the meeting, he introduced the new head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional State Administration — the former mayor of the now-occupied Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov.
This is reported by the Office of the President.
Zelensky noted the importance of the regional leadership working directly on the ground and having a good understanding of the specifics of the region. He emphasized that it is necessary to bring the process of building fortifications to the required level, to create the number of jobs in the region at the level of pre-war indicators and to focus on solving the urgent needs of the residents of the region, such as the organization of training and the restoration of housing.
Fedorov thanked for the trust. "My main goal is that all people who really want to return home can do so as soon as possible. But even in front-line Zaporizhzhia, life must go on. People should believe in Zaporizhzhia and our state, Ukraine," he said.
- From 2010 to 2015, Ivan Fedorov worked as a deputy of the Melitopol City Council. After that, he became a deputy of the Zaporizhia Regional Council from the Petro Poroshenko Bloc and a member of the permanent deputy committee on budget issues. In 2019, Fedorov became an adviser to the Melitopol mayor on urban planning and architecture, and in December 2020 — the mayor of Melitopol.
- At the beginning of the full-scale war, Fedorov refused to cooperate with the occupiers, and on March 11, 2022, he was kidnapped by the Russian military. The next day, the cityʼs residents protested, demanding the mayorʼs dismissal. A few days later, he was exchanged for nine captured Russian soldiers.
- The President appointed Fedorov as the head of the Zaporizhia regional state administration on February 2, signing the corresponding decree. He replaced Yury Malashko.