Russian forces have captured the Ukrainian Mayor of Dniprorudne, Matveev Sergeevich, according to Ukrainian leaders.
Governor of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Olexandr Starukh, announced the capture on his Facebook page on Sunday morning.
“Military crimes are becoming systematic. The mayor of Dniproudnogo Matveev Sergeevich was abducted,” he said in the post according to a Google translation.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, accused Russian forces of a “turn to terror.”
“I call on all states & international organizations to stop Russian terror against Ukraine and democracy,” he tweeted.
This abduction comes days after Ukraine announced that the mayor of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov, had been kidnapped by Russian soldiers.
The Parliament of Ukraine tweeted that Fedorov had been abducted on Friday.
“Warning. A group of 10 occupiers kidnapped the mayor of Melitopol (Zaporizhzhya region) Ivan Fedorov. He refused to cooperate with the enemy. #StopRussia #Stop Putin,” the tweet read while also showing a picture of Fedorov.
Video footage of Fedorov’s earlier kidnapping was later shared on social media. Ukrainian journalist Victor Kovalenko highlighted the video in a tweet.
“In this video, from the occupied Melitopol city in Zaporizhzhya province, you can see how in the middle of the day the Russian soldiers kidnap Ivan Fedorov, a mayor of the city.
“[This video was] shared by the Ukraine presidential office.”
In a follow-up tweet, Kovalenko wrote: “An hour before being kidnapped by the invading Russian army, Ivan Fedorov posted on his Facebook page a thank you letter to local businesses who support struggling residents.”
Speaking on this kidnapping, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the actions of the Russian forces.
“Yesterday the invaders captured, the mayor of Melitopol Ivan Fedorov,” Zelensky said in a speech following the kidnapping.
“The city community is demanding his release and this is very important.
“I am grateful to every Melitopol resident for this resistance, for this position.
“The invaders must see that they are strangers on our land on all our land of Ukraine and they will never be accepted.”
Zelensky also reaffirmed his calls for the release of the mayor, in tweets highlighting his talks with world leaders on how to end the conflict.
“I spoke with [Chancellor of Germany] Olaf Scholz and [French President] Emmanuel Macron. We discussed countering the aggressor, [Russian Federation] crimes against civilians.” Zelensky wrote in a tweet on Saturday.
“I ask my partners to help in releasing the captive mayor of Meltopol. Prospects for peace talks were also discussed. We must stop the aggressor together.
A few hours later Zelensky tweeted: “Continued dialogue with [Israel’s] PM Naftali Bennett. We talked about Russian aggression and the prospects for peace talks.
“We must stop repressions against civilians: asked to assist in the release of the captive mayor of Melitopol and local public figures #Stop Russia.
