Zelensky offers Fedorov leadership of Reconstruction Agency

Ivan Fedorov, head of the Zaporizhzhia regional military administration, said during a report marking 1,000 days in office that President Volodymyr Zelensky had offered him the position of head of the Reconstruction Agency. The information was reported by Ukrinform and Suspilne Zaporizhzhia.

Fedorov said the enemy will keep striking strategic facilities, which means they must be protected and quickly restored. He acknowledged receiving what he called an extremely difficult proposal — taking responsibility for protecting strategically important facilities across all of Ukraine. However, he stressed that this move would not mean abandoning the Zaporizhzhia region, but rather combining two areas of responsibility. Fedorov said he would keep working locally as co-chair of the Defense Council, continuing to answer for Zaporizhzhia together with his team while scaling that experience nationwide.

Zaporizhzhia remains a priority

Fedorov noted that during his conversation with Zelensky, it was emphasized that the Zaporizhzhia region remains an unconditional priority, since it serves as the country's southern stronghold, a gateway to right-bank territories, and a major industrial center.

No official decision has yet been made regarding Fedorov's dismissal from his current post or his appointment to the new one. According to Suspilne's sources in regional political circles, a likely candidate to head the Zaporizhzhia military administration is his current deputy, Mykhailo Semikin, who has worked with Fedorov's team since their time in Melitopol and has served as deputy head of the administration since May 2024.

Fedorov was elected mayor of Melitopol in 2020. After Russian forces occupied the city in February 2022, he refused to cooperate with the occupiers and was abducted in March that year, later being freed in a prisoner exchange with Russia. In February 2024, Zelensky appointed him head of the Zaporizhzhia region.