[ad_1]
Dmytro Smolyenko/Future Publishing through Getty Photos
PARIS — The 33-year-old mayor of the Ukrainian city of Melitopol was kidnapped by Russian forces in early March and held for 5 days. Now Ivan Fedorov is in France to bear witness to his city’s occupation by the Russians, and he says the troopers who interrogated him knew nothing in regards to the city or Ukraine.
Fedorov appeared on French tv channel BFM TV to explain what his city has been dwelling by means of. The boyish-looking mayor mentioned his city within the southern, Zaporizhzhia area woke as much as warfare on Feb. 24, when missiles struck a army airport just some hundred yards from some house buildings.
He mentioned Russian forces have gotten more and more aggressive as a result of their plans for a lightning warfare did not work out and his city’s resistance has made them indignant.
“They noticed that the residents weren’t welcoming them. On the contrary, individuals have been brazenly opposing the aggressor,” Fedorov mentioned.
“Residents have been popping out — 1000’s at a time — in plazas and streets regardless of armed troopers, and yelling, ‘Depart our city!’ I’m amazed by their braveness,” he mentioned.
On March 11 Russian forces put a black bag over Fedorov’s head and took him away From Melitopol’s disaster middle, the place he was working. The scene was caught on surveillance cameras.
Fedorov says he was held in a jail cell with out his telephone and unable to contact his mother and father. He informed BFM interviewer Bruce Toussaint that he might hear individuals screaming as they have been tortured in different cells.
Fedorov says he was interrogated by 5 Russian troopers who have been utterly unprepared and knew nothing about Melitopol or Ukraine.
“They mentioned they wished to liberate the city from the Nazis and the place have been they, and I informed them in my 30 years on this city I’ve by no means seen a single Nazi,” Fedorov mentioned.
He mentioned that after that the troopers informed him they wished to defend the Russian language.
“I informed them 95% of us converse Russian already and no one’s stopping us, so there is not any downside,” Fedorov mentioned.
After that, they informed Fedorov they’d heard that veterans of World Struggle II have been overwhelmed over the past commemoration day.
“I informed them I do know these males personally, as a result of there aren’t lots of them left, and so they’re handled as heroes,” he mentioned.
The mayor says he believes he was solely launched as a result of his kidnapping was caught on digicam and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy known as for his liberation.
Fedorov mentioned 29 different elected officers are nonetheless being held by Russian forces.
“We got here to France and to the EU to inform individuals what Ukrainians reside by means of,” Fedorov mentioned. “And to counter this Russian propaganda, which could be very robust.”
[ad_2]
Source link