Russia installs a new mayor in the Ukrainian city of Melitopol, which is under Russian control, after its elected mayor was kidnapped, allegedly by Russian troops.
The city is strategically located between Mariupol and Kherson. The Russians took it over quickly during the invasion and there have been protests since.
The city’s mayor, Ivan Fedorov, was taken away by armed men from a government building on Friday. Russian officials later claimed he had committed terror offenses.
The area’s regional administration says a former member of the city council, Galina Danilchenko, is now the mayor.
She says her main job now is to “take all necessary steps to get the city back to normal.”
Ukrainian President Zelensky has appealed to international leaders, including Prime Minister Bennett, for Fedorov’s release.
He said earlier Russia was trying to set up “pseudo-republics” in areas it occupied and said collaborators “would not be forgiven.”
It's not (only) about you.
Supporting The Times of Israel isn’t a transaction for an online service, like subscribing to Netflix. The ToI Community is for people like you who care about a common good: ensuring that balanced, responsible coverage of Israel continues to be available to millions across the world, for free.
Sure, we'll remove all ads from your page and you'll unlock access to some excellent Community-only content. But your support gives you something more profound than that: the pride of joining something that really matters.
Join the Times of Israel Community
Join our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Sunday, March 13, 2022
