Melitopol Mayor Fedorov: First attempt of exchange was unsuccessful

Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov, who was released from the captivity of the Russian aggressors, said that Ukraine had tried to exchange him twice.

"It was the second attempt of the exchange. The first attempt was unsuccessful, it took place on Monday, I was driven for more than seven hours in a car, after which I was told that the exchange would not take place. I was returned back to a cell… It is quite a difficult ordeal when you are driven in a car for seven hours with a bag on your head, not understanding where, not trusting people who hold you. I was in the cell for another day and a half," he said in an interview with Nastoyashchee Vremya TV channel, Ukrinform reports.

The second attempt of exchange, he said, "was also quite difficult" but successful.

Fedorov said that he had not been beaten in captivity but subjected to psychological pressure.

"When I wanted to get something from me, sometimes five, six, seven armed soldiers surrounded me. They did not touch me with their hands, but believe me, seven people with weapons in their hands standing nearby are enough to convincingly prove their position. Or someone was tortured in the next cell, I heard screams that are so psychologically oppressive so that it is absolutely comparable to pressure, torture ... So all those six days were quite difficult," said the mayor.

Fedorov clarified that he had been detained in a pre-trial detention center in Melitopol. He believes that he managed to survive only thanks to public outcry and great attention to the situation around him.

"Now I am in Kyiv, today [March 17] I had a meeting with President Zelensky, we discussed the current situation, prospects for the developments, and tomorrow I will be in Zaporizhzhia region. There is a certain action plan, which I have to implement on the instruction from the President," Fedorov said.

As reported, on March 11, Russian military abducted Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov. About 10 invaders broke into the mayor's office, put a black bag over his head and took him away in an unknown direction.

On March 16, Fedorov was exchanged for nine captured Russian servicemen.

President Volodymyr Zelensky awarded Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov the Order For Courage of 3rd degree.

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