The mayor of Melitopol, in Ukraine’s south, has been released, according to Ukrainian officials, days after Kyiv claimed he was kidnapped by invading Russian soldiers.
Mayor Ivan Fedorov was kidnapped by Russian military occupying Melitopol, a city midway between Mariupol and Kherson, on Friday, according to the Ukrainian president and parliament, because he “refused to cooperate with the enemy”.
President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke to him over the phone on Wednesday, telling him he was “happy to hear the voice of a man alive” according to a video uploaded on Telegram.
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.
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.
Punch reported that Zelensky on Saturday called on the leaders of France and Germany to help secure his release.
The mayor of Dniprorudne, another town in southern Ukraine, was also abducted on Sunday, drawing strong condemnation from the European Union.