Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers backed President Volodymyr Zelenskyy‘s decisions to dismiss Yuriy Malashko as the head of Zaporizhzhya Regional State Administration and appoint Ivan Fedorov as his successor, the government’s press service reported on Telegram on Jan. 23.
Malashko had held the regional governor position since February 2023 and previously served as the deputy head of the Anti-Terrorist Center at the Ukrainian SBU security service.
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Fedorov became the Melitopol mayor after winning the local elections in the fall of 2020. He was abducted by Russian forces on March 11, after the start of the full-scale Russian invasion. He was tortured by his captors, who demanded that Fedorov publicly declare “support” for the invaders. Fedorov refused to cooperate with the Russians, Zelenskyy said.
Fedorov was eventually released on March 16, following an exchange involving nine Russian conscripts. The president awarded him the Order for Courage grade 3.
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine