KIEV-(MaraviPost)-Russian Troops have kidnapped the mayor of southern Ukraine’s Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov, amid the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the news of the abduction in a statement, calling Fedorov “a mayor who bravely defends Ukraine and the members of his community”.
According to Zelensky, Fedorov was abducted by 10 Russian soldiers who invaded the premises of Melitopol’s crisis centre on Thursday, March 10, 2022.
They reportedly put a bag over Fedorov’s head and took him to an unknown location.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has denounced the abduction in a statement, saying the incident amounted to a war crime as international law prohibits the taking of civilian hostages during war, Al Jazeera reported .
The Ministry has also invited the international community to intervene in the recent abduction of the mayor and other civilians.
It has also requested the international community to increase pressure on Russia to end its barbaric war against the Ukrainian people
There was no immediate comment from Moscow on Fedorov’s fate.
The war between the two states has been ongoing for about two weeks.
On Friday, March 11, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba disclosed that at least 1,582 civilians have been killed in the last 12 days.
On Wednesday, March 10, three people, including a child, were killed when a children’s hospital in the city was attacked which sparkled international outrage.
On Saturday, Ukraine’s foreign ministry revealed that a mosque in the southeastern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, where 80 civilians were taking shelter, has been shelled by Russian forces.
According to the Ukrainian parliament, another regional official, the deputy head of the regional council of Zaporizhzhia, 120 kilometres (75 miles) north of Melitopol, was abducted and then released a few days ago.
Meanwhile, European Union has banned exports of luxury goods to Russia and the US President, Joe Biden, has again ruled out any direct intervention in the war, warning that such conflict pitting the NATO alliance against Russia is World War III.
