Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says Russian armed forces have kidnapped another Ukrainian mayor.
Kuleba accused Russia of taking Yevhen Matveyev, the mayor of Dniprorudne, in a statement Sunday morning. The foreign minister claimed that Russian armed forces were turning to the use of scare tactics.
“Today, Russian war criminals abducted another democratically elected Ukrainian mayor, head of Dniprorudne Yevhen Matveyev,” Kuleba said in a post to Twitter.
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“Getting zero local support, invaders turn to terror,” Kuleba said, issuing a call to “all states and international organizations to stop Russian terror against Ukraine and democracy.”
Matveyev’s alleged abduction comes two days after Russian armed forces took Ivan Fyodorov, the mayor of the city of Melitopol. Footage from CNN showed Russian military forces taking Fyodorov away outside of a government building, according to the Hill.
In response to the second abduction, Zaporizhzhia Gov. Oleksandr Starukh said in a Facebook post on Sunday that “military crimes are becoming systematic” in reference to Matveyev being abducted.
Ukrainian politician Lesia Vasylenko claimed in a Twitter post that the abductions of the two mayors were “terrorist tactics to install puppet regimes at local level.”
Today, Russian war criminals abducted another democratically elected Ukrainian mayor, head of Dniprorudne Yevhen Matveyev. Getting zero local support, invaders turn to terror. I call on all states & international organizations to stop Russian terror against Ukraine and democracy. pic.twitter.com/jEPTBTLikY
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) March 13, 2022
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Ukrainians gathered in Melitopol on Saturday to protest the abduction of Fyodorov and to demand that he be released.
In Melitopol, defiant residents gathered near occupied district administration demanding that Russians release the kidnapped Melitopol mayor Ivan Fedorov – video by Odessa reg governor Maksym Marchenko pic.twitter.com/nCrE6OtQd0
— Myroslava Petsa (@myroslavapetsa) March 12, 2022
Russian forces put Galina Danilchenko in charge as the new mayor of Melitopol on Saturday, according to CNN. Danilchenko is claimed to be the interim mayor.
