‘Kidnapped’ mayor of Ukrainian city of Melitopol is FREED after being swapped for nine captured Russian conscript soldiers – and tells Zelensky ‘thanks for not abandoning me’
- Ivan Fedorov, mayor of Melitopol, was allegedly kidnapped by Russia on Friday
- Abduction was condemned by Ukrainian president and EU foreign policy chief
- Fedorov has now been released after trade for nine Russian conscript soldiers
By KATIE FEEHAN FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 10:43 AEDT, 17 March 2022 | UPDATED: 11:02 AEDT, 17 March 2022
The mayor of Ukraine's southern city of Melitopol has been released, days after Kyiv said he was abducted by invading Russian forces.
In phone call shared by the Ukrainian government, Ivan Fedorov thanked the president for not 'abandoning' him and said he will be ready to serve again after 'one or two days to recover'.
Chilling CCTV footage showed the moment Fedorov had a plastic bag placed over his head as he was escorted out of a building and across Melitopol's Victory Square by 10 armed men on last Friday.
Ukrainian President Vlodymyr Zelensky called for help from Germany and France to secure Fedorov's release and the kidnap was also condemned by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell in a post on Twitter.
According to the Ukrainian president and parliament, mayor Ivan Fedorov was abducted because he 'refused to cooperate with the enemy'.
On Wednesday a video posted on Telegram showed President Volodymyr Zelensky speaking to him on the phone and telling him he was 'happy to hear the voice of a man alive'.
Phone call of freedom: President Zelensky is pictured speaking on the phone with (right) Ivan Fedorov, the mayor of Melitopol who was allegedly kidnapped by Russian soldiers on Friday
Fedorov replies he is 'much better'.
'Thank you for not abandoning me. I will need one or two days to recover and then I will be at your disposal to contribute to our victory,' he says.
In response, President Zelensky reportedly said: 'We don't abandon our own.'
Dasha Zarivna, a spokeswoman for the Ukrainian presidency, said on Ukrainian television late Wednesday that Federov was swapped for nine captured Russian soldiers, aged 20 and 21.
'These are basically children, conscripts, who according to the Russian defence ministry are not present in Ukraine,' Zarivna said.
'But the whole world sees again that they are there.'
The parliament said the mayor was seized while at the city's crisis centre dealing with supply issues.
Chilling: Shocking video footage shared last week showed the moment Melitopol's mayor Ivan Fedorov was kidnapped by Russian troops after he 'refused to co-operate with the enemy'
Pictured: Dozens of heroic Ukrainian residents brawled with Russian troops in Melitopol on Sunday, two days after their mayor was kidnapped by Moscow's forces for 'not co-operating'
The mayor of Dniprorudne, another town in southern Ukraine, was also abducted on Sunday, drawing strong condemnation from the European Union.
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted on Sunday that 'Russian war criminals' had 'abducted another democratically elected Ukrainian mayor, Yevhen Matveyev'.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has condemned both kidnappings in a post on Twitter.
'It is yet another attack on democratic institutions in Ukraine and an attempt to establish illegitimate alternative government structures in a sovereign country,' he added.
European Council President Charles Michel also condemned 'in the strongest terms Russia's indiscriminate bombing of civilians in Ukraine as well as Russia's kidnapping of the mayors of Melitopol and Dniprorudne and other Ukrainians.
'These kidnappings and other pressure on Ukrainian local authorities constitute another flagrant violation of international law,' he added.
Following Fedorov's capture on Friday, huge crowds ignored Vladimir Putin's demands to stay away as they gathered outside the building where the city chief was last seen being dragged away by Moscow's troops.
Other protestors were pictured enthusiastically waving placards calling for the mayor's release.
Ukraine's premier heaped praise on the citizens of Melitopol who 'did not surrender to the invaders' and described Fedorov's alleged abduction as a 'crime' against 'democracy'.
He added that Fedorov's capture was an 'attempt to bring the city to its knees', called for the immediate release of the besieged settlement's mayor and said the acts of Russian invaders would be treated as 'terrorism'.
'The capture of the mayor of Melitopol is therefore a crime, not only against a particular person, against a particular community, and not only against Ukraine. It is a crime against democracy itself.
'The acts of the Russian invaders will be regarded like those of Islamic State terrorists,' he said.
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'Kidnapped' Ukrainian mayor is FREED after being swapped for captured Russian conscript soldiers
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