He told this on Espreso TV.
"The occupiers are massively preparing for defense. We are not talking about the several echelons of defensive structures they have built on three sides of Melitopol: from Vasylivka, Berdiansk and Kherson region. Today, the invaders are building underground towns. For example, in the village of Novomykolayivka near Melitopol, they are massively burying shipping containers in the ground to build an underground bunker for themselves," said the mayor of Melitopol.
Ivan Fedorov added that the occupiers have also been tasked with preparing bomb shelters in the city for their leadership: in the building of the former Ukrainian Security Service office, in the former tax office, in the Tavria Agrotechnological University and the Palace of Culture of Railwaymen – these are the main bomb shelters in Melitopol, which the enemies will definitely not use to protect civilians.
"So today, the invaders clearly understand that the mantra they tell about the alleged "land corridor that no one will give up" and that "they will definitely go further" is just propaganda. The occupiers are preparing for the fact that they will have to flee from Melitopol, so today they are trying to prepare for defense," Fedorov emphasized
On February 18, Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov said that Russia had deployed Wagner soldiers to the Zaporizhzhia direction.
On February 19, RIA-Melitopol reported that in the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia region, namely in Melitopol, the invading troops are going door-to-door: if the owners do not have housing documents, they are threatened with eviction