Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned of a “new wave of terror,” citing the abduction of Melitopol’s mayor.
In a video message posted on the social media platform Telegram, Zelensky also vowed to send vital supplies to Mariupol after Russian troops surrounded the port city on the Sea of Azov coast, cutting off access to food, water, and electricity.
“Russian troops have not let our aid into the city and continue to torture our people. … Tomorrow [Saturday], we will try again — try again to send food, water, and medicine,” Zelensky said, according to the Daily Mail.
MAYOR OF UKRAINIAN CITY MELITOPOL CAPTURED BY RUSSIAN FORCES
The death toll in the city has surpassed 1,500 amid the worsening resource shortages. Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, called the situation in Mariupol “the worst humanitarian catastrophe on the planet” and labeled the siege a war crime.
Roughly 120 miles to the west, the mayor of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov, was captured by Russian forces, the Deputy Head of the Office of the President Kyrylo Tymoshenko reported Friday, citing preliminary information.
“It is a democratic world here, therefore the capture of the mayor of Melitopol is a crime not only against a particular person, not only against a particular community, and not only against Ukraine. This is a crime against democracy,” Zelensky said in his video update.
The abduction of Fedorov was “a sign of weakness,” Zelensky said, adding, “They did not find collaborators who would hand over the city and the power to the invaders. Therefore, they have switched to a new stage of terror when they are trying to physically eliminate representatives of the legitimate local Ukrainian authorities,” Axios reported.
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Fighting has intensified in recent days as Russian forces make slow but steady gains and press toward Kyiv. More than 2.5 million citizens have fled the country in the 15 days since the invasion began.
