Who is Galina Danilchenko? New mayor installed in Melitopol, Ukraine following abduction of Ivan Fedorov 

Galina Danilchenko was appointed as the mayor of Melitopol, Ukraine, just a day after the reported abduction of the democratically elected 33-year-old, Ivan Fedorov. The Ukrainian parliament claimed that Fedorov was taken away by a troop of soldiers on March 11, after he refused to cooperate with them. The politician was unsupportive of Russia's presence in the country and labeled them as “occupiers,” and told the BBC,

"We are not cooperating with the Russians in any way, they have not tried to help us, they cannot help us and we do not want their help."

Fedorov is scheduled to be prosecuted under terrorism charges by officials in Luhansk, a separatist-dominated state, whose freedom is recognized by Russia.

Galina Danilchenko was selected as the acting mayor by Russian forces, and her selection was announced through local television.

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Galina Danilchenko labeled a "traitor" by the citizens of Melitopol

Galina Danilchenko is a former member and city council deputy for Opposition Bloc, a pro-Russia political party created in 2014.

In her appointment video, Danilchenko shared her current goals with the city. She announced that her main task was to accustom the city with the "new reality in order, to as quickly as possible, live in a new way and take all necessary steps to get the city back to normal."

She proposed to set a “people’s committee” to look into and solve public issues in the city, and warned against any violent behavior or "extremist activities" which could “provoke a reaction of bad behavior.”

She asked people to stay calm, and parts of her speech said,

"I ask you to keep your wits about you and not give in to these provocations. I appeal to the deputies, elected by the people, on all levels. Since you were elected by the people, it is your duty to care about the well-being of your citizens."

While we cannot confirm the reason behind Galina Danilchenko agreeing to take up the position, Ukrainians and social media users have already branded her a traitor and demanded that Russia bring back Fedorov.

It was reported that around 2000 people gathered outside the city hall, which has reportedly been occupied by Russian forces, chanting,

"Bring back the mayor! Bring back the mayor! Freedom to the mayor! Freedom to the mayor!"

Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, shared his views on the incident in two videotaped speeches released on Saturday, calling Federov's capture "a crime against democracy." He expressed that Russia did not find the support it was looking for in the city, which is why they took away mayor Federov. He said,

“The whole country saw that Melitopol did not surrender to the invaders.”

He asked the Russian authorities to release the mayor and sought assistance from the leaders of Germany and France. He continued,

“We expect them, the world leaders, to show how they can influence the situation.”

Melitopol has a population of close to 150,000 people, which has seen Russian military presence grow over the past two weeks before the appointment of the new mayor.