Russia has abducted Yevhen Matveyev, Mayor of Dniprorudne in Vasylivka district, Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine, said the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
Kuleba called on the international community to come for support and stop the Russian 'terror'. Russian invaders are not getting the support of locals in Ukraine and thus they are resorting to instilling terror, said the Ukrainian FM.
Kuleba in a tweet wrote, "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."
The abduction of Dniprorudne Mayor is the second incident as earlier, Melitopol mayor Ivan Fedorov was seen on video being led away from a government building in the city by armed men.
But after some time, the Russian-backed Luhansk regional prosecutor came forward to defend the mayor's detention and claimed that Fedorov had committed terrorism offenses and was under investigation.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has posted a hard-hitting statement on its Facebook account that calls the detention of the Melitopol mayor a "war crime."
On Facebook, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry called Fedorov's detention an "abduction," and posted that this aggression is accompanied by "gross violations of norms and principles of international law, including international humanitarian law, war crimes and crimes against humanity, as well as other human rights violations by the Russian military."
The Foreign Ministry said that the abduction of the mayor is classified as a war crime under the Geneva Convention and its Additional Protocols that prohibit civilian hostages like Fedorov from being taken.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed the war situation in Ukraine with Israel Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and sought his help for the release of the Melitopol mayor.
On February 24, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine after the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republic requested help in 'defending themselves.'
The Russian Defense Ministry said the special operation is targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure only and the civilian population is not in danger.
The West however denies these claims by the Russians and in response, Western nations have imposed comprehensive sanctions on Moscow. In addition, they introduced sanctions on Belarus for supporting Russia's operation in Ukraine.
( With inputs from ANI )
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