Ukraine official says Russian troops put a bag over Ivan Fedorov’s head earlier than main him away to an unknown location.
Ukrainian authorities have accused Russian forces of abducting the mayor of Melitopol, a metropolis in southeastern Ukraine that has fallen below Russian management.
Anton Heraschenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s inside ministry, stated 10 troopers entered the premises of Melitopol’s disaster centre on Thursday, put a bag over Mayor Ivan Fedorov’s head and took him to an unknown location.
Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the president’s workplace in Kyiv, shared footage of what he stated was Fedorov’s abduction.
The video confirmed masked males main one other man out of a constructing.
Al Jazeera couldn’t independently confirm the footage.
There was no quick remark from Moscow on Fedorov’s destiny.
In a video message late on Friday, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the kidnapping, calling Fedorov a “mayor who bravely defends Ukraine and the members of his group”.
“That is clearly an indication of weak point of the invaders,” he stated. “They’ve moved to a brand new stage of terror during which they’re attempting to bodily get rid of representatives of professional native Ukrainian authorities.”
❗ Warning ❗
A bunch of 10 occupiers kidnapped the mayor of #Melitopol (Zaporizhzhya area) Ivan Fedorov. He refused to cooperate with the enemy.#StopRussia #StopPutin
👇 pic.twitter.com/nV6OPlbGfh— Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (@ua_parliament) March 11, 2022
The Ukrainian Overseas Ministry additionally denounced the kidnapping in an announcement, saying the incident amounted to a warfare crime as worldwide legislation prohibits the taking of civilian hostages throughout warfare.
The ministry stated Russian forces have been “cynically accusing the mayor of terrorism”.
“We name on the worldwide group to reply instantly to the kidnapping of Ivan Federov and different civilians, and to extend strain on Russia to finish its barbaric warfare in opposition to the Ukrainian individuals.”
Russian forces entered Melitopol on the second day of their invasion, on February 25, based on the Ukrayinska Pravda information web site.
Following the Russian offensive, Fedorov led a number of rallies in opposition to the invasion, based on the information outlet. That included a rally on March 2 that was attended by 1000’s of individuals.
On March 5, Ukrayinska Pravda reported Fedorov saying that the state of affairs within the metropolis was getting “tough” attributable to meals and drugs shortages.
He additionally stated Melitopol authorities had requested Russian forces to open a humanitarian hall to let town’s residents go away, however stated the request was refused.
