Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday called on French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to help free the mayor of the Ukrainian city of Melitopol, kidnapped the day before by the Russians according to Kyiv.
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“During the night and today, we are talking to our partners about the situation with our mayor. Our demand is clear: he must be released immediately (…) I have already telephoned Chancellor Olaf Scholz. I spoke to President Emmanuel Macron (…), I will speak to all the people necessary to free our people,” Zelensky said in a video released by the Ukrainian presidency.
“We expect world leaders to show us how they can influence the situation,” he added.
According to the Ukrainian president and parliament, mayor Ivan Fedorov was kidnapped on Friday by Russian soldiers who are occupying Melitopol, a city in southern Ukraine halfway between Mariupol and Kherson, because he “refused to cooperate with the ‘enemy”.
According to the Rada, the Ukrainian parliament, the mayor was arrested when he was at the crisis center of the city to deal with supply issues.
According to President Zelensky, 2,000 Ukrainians demonstrated on Saturday in Melitopol against the Russian invasion and to demand the release of their mayor.
“Do you hear, Moscow? If 2,000 people demonstrate in Melitopol against the occupation, how many should you be in Moscow against the war?” he launched in his video.
Before the Russian invasion began on February 24, Melitopol had just over 150,000 inhabitants.
President Zelensky also claimed that Russia was suffering “the greatest losses in decades”.
“They have never lost so much in a few days,” he said. “Most armies in the world don’t have the amount of equipment that Russia has lost since the invasion of Ukraine.”
Russia has not provided any report on its losses since March 2, when it recognized nearly 500 soldiers killed and 1,600 wounded in its ranks.