Blindfolded and Taken Away: Mayor of Melitopol Told the Story of His Russian Captivity

24.03.2022, 13:10 tsn.ua

He was lucky to avoid the beatings despite constant threats of violence. Ivan Fedorov, the Mayor of Melitopol, recently set free from Russian captivity tells the press how the invaders tried to coerce him into resignation. “The Russian special force unit together with military troops came after me that day. Probably, they were from the Federal Security Service, but called themselves the “DNR” militia (the terrorist organization acting on the temporarily occupied Donbas territories – editor’s note). They broke into temporarily office, where our municipal executive committee was headquartered. It was in Shevchenko Hall of Culture on Melitopol’s central square. They just took me away”, Fedorov says. The Mayor then recalls how he was blindfolded, forced into a vehicle, taken to the former Melitopol police station and thrown into a cell.“The occupant administration has stationed there since the very first days. Our forces have already left the building. In the cell, they removed the bag from my head, but I was still handcuffed and spent the first day laying or sitting with my hands restrained. I was completely isolated and had no contact with anyone. The troops guarding my cell were even prohibited to tell me the time”, Fedorov empathizes. The Mayor was lucky to avoid the beatings despite constant threats of violence. “They charged me with a formal fake case. Allegedly, I was suspected in funding the Right Sector. But everyone understands that it’s a nonsense: Melitopol, the Right Sector, its funding in 2014 and Donetsk insurgents simply don’t add up. They even refused to let me know the actual reasons for my detainment, just tried to coerce me to resign and appoint some kind of deputy. They didn’t beat me, though, despite clear threats of violence. Still, it’s pretty unnerving, when you are interrogated for three hours surrounded by six-seven Russian servicemen armed to the teeth”, Fedorov added. Read also: