Kyiv (agencies)
The mayor of Melitopol has been kidnapped by Russian soldiers occupying the southern Ukrainian city, Ukrainian officials announced, and President Volodymyr Zelensky later confirmed it.
“A group of 10 Russians kidnapped the mayor of Melitopol Ivan Fedorov,” the Verkhovna Rada said on Twitter, adding: “He refused to cooperate with them.”
According to the same source, the mayor was arrested while he was in the city’s crisis center, regarding 120 kilometers south of Zaporozhye, where he was following up on logistical matters.
“In Melitopol, the Russians have captured the mayor of the city, Ivan Fedorov, … a mayor who courageously defends Ukraine and members of his community,” Zelensky said in a video message.
“It is clearly an indication of the weakness of the Russian forces… They have moved to a new stage in which they are trying to eliminate representatives of the legitimate local Ukrainian authorities,” he added.
“Therefore, the arrest of the Mayor of Melitopol is considered a crime not once morest a specific person, once morest a particular community and only once morest Ukraine… It is a crime once morest democracy in itself,” Zelensky added.
Earlier, the deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential administration, Kirilo Tymoshenko, posted a video on Telegram showing soldiers from a distance coming out of a building, grabbing a man dressed in black, whose head appeared to be covered with a black bag.
