Zelenskyy offers Zaporizhzhia Oblast head Fedorov post as head of Agency for Restoration

What Happened

Ivan Fedorov, Head of Zaporizhzhia Oblast Military Administration, said during a report marking 1,000 days in office that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had offered him the position of head of the Agency for Restoration and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine. Fedorov stated: “The enemy will continue to strike strategic facilities, so they need to be protected as much as possible and repaired quickly. I have received an extremely challenging offer – to head the Agency for Restoration and take responsibility for protecting strategically important facilities across Ukraine.” He added that the transition would combine two areas of responsibility, not abandon Zaporizhzhia Oblast, and that he would continue working there as co-chair of the Defence Council. Fedorov said Zelenskyy stressed Zaporizhzhia Oblast remains an absolute priority because it is Ukraine’s southern stronghold, provides access to the right bank of the Dnipro River and is a major industrial centre. No official decision on Fedorov’s dismissal or appointment has been made.

Key Actors

Why It Matters

The potential appointment places Fedorov in charge of protecting strategically important facilities across Ukraine as Russian strikes on infrastructure continue. Zaporizhzhia Oblast’s role as a southern stronghold, major industrial centre, and access point to the right bank of the Dnipro River makes coordination between restoration and regional defence significant. Fedorov’s personal history—elected Melitopol mayor in 2020, abducted by Russian forces on 11 March 2022 after refusing to cooperate, and released on 16 March 2022 in exchange for nine Russian conscripts—adds political weight to his expanded role.

Watch For

An official presidential decree on Fedorov’s appointment or dismissal, and any confirmation of Mykhailo Semikin as his replacement in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Also monitor whether Fedorov’s stated dual responsibilities take formal shape and how Russian strikes on strategic facilities affect the restoration agency’s priorities.