It's been almost a year since Ivan Fedorov was appointed head of the Zaporizhzhia OVA. During this short period, Fedorov has managed to become a figure in a number of high-profile scandals related to total corruption, "Russian fortune-telling", "fake captivity" and even contract killing.
Let's start with the fact that Ivan Fedorov came to the post of head of the Zaporizhzhia OVA with a significant corruption and gangster trail. As the mayor of Melitopol, Fedorov was remembered by residents for his " communal racketeering " and connections with crime , in particular, the local recidivist gangster Artur Gorobets (Tucha).
Artur Tucha was a member of the power bloc of Ivan Fedorov and the former mayor of Melitopol, and now MP Serhiy Minko. Fedorov and Minko are long-time friends and partners, and together with Artur Gorobets, they were listed in law enforcement materials as the “Melitopol” OMU.
Artur Tucha solved a number of tasks for Fedorov and Minko - from the physical elimination of undesirables to banal racketeering. The following facts of pressure on Melitopol entrepreneurs, in particular jewelers and farmers, are reliably known. To force farmers to pay , Artur Tucha burned crops and agricultural machinery. As for jewelers, Fedorov gave instructions to public utilities to turn off the lights in the area of their shops, and at this time Artur Tucha robbed them. This was repeated until the jewelers agreed to pay Fedorov.
Rescue the “captive Fedorov”
But with such a background, how did Volodymyr Zelenskyy appoint Ivan Fedorov as head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration?
As we reported earlier, when the Russians captured Melitopol, Fedorov remained the main contender for mayor of the occupied city. He was “friends” with Russian generals, they were frequent guests of his new office in the Shevchenko Palace (4 Victory Square), and everything was going well until the official appointment.
At the same time, the Russians, having provided information about Fedorov, his connections with crime and drug addiction, changed their minds, since Melitopol has a special strategic and ideological significance for them. Instead of Fedorov, the little-known, but without drug addiction and criminal record, Galina Danilchenko became the mayor of the occupied city. After that, Fedorov decided to return to the territory controlled by Ukraine, inventing a story about captivity.
It is worth noting that these events took place in the first days of the war in conditions of general chaos. Therefore, people believed in “Fedorov’s story about captivity”, first of all Volodymyr Zelensky, who connected the diplomatic corps and made an appeal to the international community. Fedorov was immediately released in exchange for “9 conscript soldiers”.
The attention of journalists was attracted by the “healthy and radiant” appearance of the “captive Fedorov”, unlike other mayors of the Zaporizhzhia region who returned from Russian captivity. Recall that the first deputy mayor of Energodar, Ivan Samoydyuk, was held captive for almost a year - he returned in a serious physical and moral condition. Even less fortunate was the mayor of Dniprorudny, Zaporizhzhia region, Yevhen Matveyev, whose body was recently returned from Russian captivity .
PHOTO: Ivan Fedorov in excellent physical shape gives interviews after "Russian captivity"
The question is why Ivan Fedorov was so “lucky” in Russian captivity. Perhaps because of his uncle in Moscow, who worked in the security services, or because of his alleged contacts with Russian special services in Minsk and Istanbul and open accounts in the Russian JSC “MOSCOMBANK”, which Ivan Fedorov was somehow embarrassed to include in his declaration, but which were found by journalists of our publication.
PHOTO: Photo source: NENKA.INFO
But the fact remains that after his successful return from “Russian captivity,” Ivan Fedorov becomes a frequent guest on all-Ukrainian TV channels, he is interviewed more than once a day. And later, Volodymyr Zelensky appoints the “hero” as the head of the Zaporizhzhia OVA.
PHOTO: Volodymyr Zelenskyy meets Ivan Fedorov after returning from “captivity”
The most scandalous governor
It is worth noting that the Ukrainian special services still had questions about Fedorov's appointment to the post of head of the Zaporizhzhia OVA. In particular, one of the SBU conclusions was negative, but "PR" won. So Fedorov was still appointed, which was the beginning of the story about "the most scandalous governor.".
Ivan Fedorov began his "reign" by replacing the mayor of Zaporizhia, Anatoly Kurtiev, with his own person, Regina Kharchenko.
PHOTO: Ivan Fedorov introduces the new mayor Regina Kharchenko to journalists
They did it in a not entirely legal way , so the courts are still going on. But in order to replace the mayor manually and seize control of the city with a billion-dollar budget, Fedorov needed to remove all the “unpleasant people.”
The murder of Maksym Denshchyk, in which Ivan Fedorov is accused of involvement
So, as part of the change of "power" in Zaporizhia, the murder of the lawyer of the Zaporizhia City Hall, Maksym Denshchyk, takes place. In a video interview with Maksym Denshchyk , which he gave literally a week before the murder, and which was published after his death, Denshchyk talks in detail about his conflict with Ivan Fedorov and the pressure to resign.
PHOTO: Screenshot from Maksym Denshchyk's Facebook about threats from Ivan Fedorov. Photo from the scene of Denshchyk's murder a month later
It is also worth noting that after the murder of Maksym Denshchyk, the city not only did not introduce an interception plan to promptly detain the killer, but also removed all mobile checkpoints, which suggests that someone influential wanted to give the killer the opportunity to leave the region.
In the context of the murder of Maksym Denshchyk, the figure of Melitopol bandit Artur Tuchi resurfaces.
It is worth saying that after his "miraculous" release from captivity and return to the territory controlled by Ukraine by his master, Ivan Fedorov, Artur Tucha remained in Melitopol and engaged in his usual activities - robbery and racketeering.
This time, Tucha's victims were Ukrainians who were unable to leave the occupied territories. Tucha and his gang, through robbery and torture, demanded money from them, supposedly for "working for the Russians." The information reached the local administration and Artur Tucha was detained by the Russians, as reported by local media .
But “another miracle” happens – shortly after the arrest, Artur Tucha disappears from a Russian prison and appears near Ivan Fedorov in Zaporizhzhia. Only Ivan Fedorov could have organized such a “miracle” for his “hand-held racketeer” through contacts with the occupation authorities.
Tucha chose the Lihoy restaurant in the city center as a base for himself and other members of the Melitopol gang. Lihoy belongs to members of another Zaporizhzhia criminal group, the Artashy ODU, whose positions were shaken after Volodymyr Zelensky imposed sanctions on their leader, Artashes Sargsyan.
Despite the sanctions imposed by the President, Ivan Fedorov is bringing Artashes closer to him by appointing Regina Kharchenko, who previously worked in their law firm, to the post of mayor and by purchasing drones at 2 times inflated prices from a company whose founders include the same representatives of the Artashes Regional Government.
It is not surprising that the trail of the killer of Maksym Denshchyk led law enforcement officers to the Lihoy restaurant, where the searches were taking place . By the way, after the searches, the Lihoy restaurant was closed , and two members of the Melitopol OZU, including Artur Tucha, were sent to the pre-trial detention center.
Later, in order to get Artur Tucha out of pre-trial detention, his lover and, at the same time, another lawyer of the Artashes Regional Prison, Tetyana Shcherban, attempts to bribe the head of the Zaporizhzhia Democratic Socialist Party, Oleksandr Bohdan, in the amount of $100,000, but he refuses.
Later, Tuch's lover and at the same time his lawyer, Tetiana Shcherban, publicly accused Oleksandr Bohdan and representatives of another Zaporizhzhia ODU, the Taisons, with whom Artashiv has a long-standing conflict over the division of spheres of influence, of attacking her car via Facebook. The next day, the judge of the Ordzhonikidzevsk court, Yulia Geyets, made a decision to release Artur Tuch on bail, which would later be canceled on appeal.
PHOTO: To free Artur Tucha's lover, lawyer Tetyana Shcherban accuses top security officials of the attack
In this context, an interesting detail is that Artur Tucha was in custody in a case of extortion (racketeering), but according to media , he was to be charged in the near future in the case of the murder of Maksym Denshchyk, in which part of his gang is already being investigated .
How Ivan Fedorov turned Zaporizhzhia region into a “corruption feeding trough”
Having received full power in Zaporizhia and the region, Ivan Fedorov, together with his “Melitopol team,” becomes the subject of a number of journalistic investigations, in which he is accused of embezzling budget funds for literally everything: from road repairs to the construction of underground schools and fortifications .
According to journalists' estimates, hundreds of millions of hryvnias were spent on the construction of underground schools alone, which was carried out at "secret prices" and turned out to be the most expensive in Ukraine .
Ivan Fedorov's people , in particular with the head of the Department of Municipal Administration of Zaporizhia Miskrad Gennady Tymchenko, also win tenders
For example, tenders announced by the Department often win companies with the highest prices , and the work is carried out without technical equipment and with expired materials. According to Gennady Timchenko , road marking work is often carried out at sub-zero temperatures, and asphalt is laid directly on the snow.
Racketeering “in the name of the President”
In addition to total corruption – i.e. embezzlement of funds from the Ukrainian budget, Ivan Fedorov began to “treat” local entrepreneurs with utility connections. On Fedorov’s orders, utility workers dug up the entire city center, blocking the entrances to kiosks and restaurants of local entrepreneurs who refused to pay their taxes.
Russian fortune teller and drug addiction of Ivan Fedorov
To complete the portrait of the head of the Zaporizhzhia OVA, Ivan Fedorov, it is worth mentioning the scandal that erupted after the appearance of information about the Russian fortune teller and, at the same time, Ivan Fedorov's mistress, Alena Laurent. With the help of Ivan Fedorov, Laurent and her children left for the occupied Crimea, where she openly supported the occupation troops, which did not prevent Ivan Fedorov from regularly using her "services."
PHOTO: Collage Informant: Ivan Fedorov and his fortune teller Alena Laurent
During one of Fedorov's quarrels with his fortune teller, which they periodically had because of Laurent's jealousy, she published excerpts of her correspondence with Fedorov. As it turned out, Fedorov constantly consulted with Laurent on all work issues. When asked by journalists about the authenticity of this correspondence and why it discusses top Ukrainian security forces and politicians, including the President, Fedorov refused to comment.
PHOTO: Screenshots of Ivan Fedorov's correspondence with his fortune teller Alena Laurent
But the offended Laurent went further and took out Ivan Fedorov’s personal medical record from the drug dispensary in occupied Melitopol, with a detailed description of all of Fedorov’s diagnoses, including his impressions of the first “screw.” The materials were leaked to the Ukrainian media, and all the documents were presented in video format, meaning their authenticity is beyond doubt.
PHOTO: Sheets from the medical record of Ivan Fedorov from the Melitopol drug dispensary
“He surrendered Melitopol, he will surrender Zaporizhzhia too” – what local residents say about Ivan Fedorov
The public opinion of Zaporizhzhia residents regarding Ivan Fedorov is also quite interesting. In addition to accusations of total corruption, raiding, and the murder of Maksym Denshchyk, Ivan Fedorov is often accused of things like “he gave up Melitopol, but Zaporizhzhia is his own.”.
The fact is that many residents of Melitopol left for Zaporizhia after the occupation. Accordingly, now in Zaporizhia there are more than enough witnesses to the events when Melitopol passed to the Russians without a fight, and how Ivan Fedorov freely communicated with Russian generals. That is, Ukrainians who left Melitopol for Zaporizhia consider Fedorov a traitor. And traitors are not loved anywhere.
The “scams” listed in our publication alone would be more than enough to cause the resignation of any head of the OVA appointed by the President. But Ivan Fedorov remains in office and is dragging all the negativity onto the Office of the President, and personally Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
