The Russian occupiers intend to hold pseudo-elections in the occupied territory of Zaporizhia region and, in particular, in Melitopol, Mayor Ivan Fedorov has said.

"We really see a trend of starting preparations for the elections... And just as they had a fake referendum, they want to hold fake elections," he said at a briefing at Ukraine-Ukrinform media center on Wednesday.

According to him, this is evidenced by several factors. Firstly, the so-called vice-governor of Zaporizhia region Serhiy Tolmachov, who arrived from Sevastopol, "has been clearly cut tasks regarding the elections."

Secondly, as Fedorov said, "one of the collaborators, Halyna Katiuschenko, was today elected by the central election commission of the Russian Federation as the one who will be the head of the central election commission directly in the temporarily occupied Melitopol region."

Thirdly, the mayor of Melitopol draws attention to the territory of the temporarily occupied Zaporizhia region, representatives of Russian political parties are already declaring - both seemingly oppositional and pro-government "and they regularly carry out this propaganda work."