He was thought to have been grabbed by ten soldiers and a plastic bag put over his head
The mayor of the Ukrainian city of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov, has been abducted by Russian forces, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The abduction was captured on local CCTV footage in which you see President Putin‘s troops swiftly seize a man thought to be Federov. Upon closer inspection, they can be seen to have placed a plastic bag over his head as he is detained and taken prisoner.
What is known at this point:
🔻Enemies detained Fedorov in the city crisis center, where he dealt with the livelihood of Melitopol. The Ukrainian flag stood in the mayor's office.
🔻During Fedorov's abduction, they put a plastic bag on his head.
👇— Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine – Ukrainian Parliament (@ua_parliament) March 11, 2022
Federov was reportedly helping man a local crisis centre in the southeastern city when ten individuals were said to have abducted him as the Russian invasion continues to push further into the region.
You can see the moment he is grabbed outside the building as local civilians are forced to standby and watch in the video below:
The mayor of #Melitopol Ivan Fedorov was kidnapped, said Anton Gerashchenko
According to him, Fyodorov refused to cooperate with the Russian military occupying the city. He was detained at the city crisis center, where he was in charge of the city's life support. pic.twitter.com/mCzfCzDWzQ
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) March 11, 2022
Speaking in a public address on his Facebook page, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the attack, which the foreign office labelled a “war crime”, adding that combatants “have transitioned into a new stage of terror… They are trying to physically eliminate representatives of legitimate local Ukrainian authorities.”
Melitopol, a city with a population of approximately 150,000 people, was taken by Russian forces on February 26; not only is there alleged abduction of the mayor being considered a war crime but they have already used thermobaric weapons in the conflict – a weapon banned under the Geneva Convention.
Elsewhere in the country, intelligence suggests that fighting has increased around Kyiv and as well as building numbers around the outskirts, it is thought that troops are now set to once again try and take the capital.
The latest footage shows tanks assembling into “firing positions” in nearby towns, having already seized control of several border regions and the Crimea entirely.
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