Russian soldiers occupying the city kidnapped the mayor of Melitopol in southern Ukraine. This was reported by several Ukrainian officials. The footage shows a man dressed in black being led away by dozens of soldiers.
The Verkhovna Rada’s Twitter account reads: “A group of ten occupiers kidnapped the Mayor of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov.” The mayor is said to have been detained by soldiers because he “refused to cooperate with the enemy”. According to the same source, Fedorov was arrested while in the city’s crisis center to solve supply problems.
Kirillo Tymoshenko, deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential administration, posted a video on Telegram showing soldiers leaving a building from a distance and carrying a man in black. The man’s head appears to be covered with a black bag.
Russia has not yet responded to these allegations. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry responded that the kidnapping violated the Geneva Conventions, treaties that form an important part of international humanitarian law.
