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Russian forces took a second Ukrainian mayor captive, Ukrainian officials said Sunday.
Russian “war criminals” abducted Yevhen Matveyev, mayor of Dniprorudne, a city in the Vasylivka Raion of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, according to Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba.
“Getting zero local support, invaders turn to terror,” Kuleba tweeted. “I call on all states & international organizations to stop Russian terror against Ukraine and democracy.
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Matveyev is the second Ukrainian mayor reportedly captured by Russian forces advancing in the region.
Ivan Fedorov, mayor of the nearby city of Melitopol, was abducted on March 11, Kuleba said Saturday.
“Russian war criminals abduct democratically elected mayors of Ukrainian towns,” Kuleba tweeted. “Locals hold protests demanding to free him.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pleaded with Western nations that communicate with Moscow – France, Germany, Israel and others – Saturday to help him free Fedorov, saying in an address, “I’ll talk to whoever I need to talk to in order for our people to be freed.”
Zelenskyy said he spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz about the issue.
His address came hours after Ukrainian Parliament announced Fedorov had been captured, saying a group of 10 “occupiers” put a plastic bag on the mayor’s head in Melitopol’s crisis center.
“This is yet another example of the illegal, cynical and barbaric acts perpetrated by the Russian armed forces in the context of their reckless and unprovoked aggression against Ukraine,” European Parliament said in a statement in response to Fedorov’s abduction. “We call on the Russian military authorities to free Mr. Ivan Fedorov immediately and to ensure that his health and safety is preserved. We urge the Russian authorities to fully respect the…
Source : foxnews
