KYIV: Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has accused the Russian forces of abducting the mayor of Ukraine's Melitopol city. Ukraine's parliament alleged that the Russian forces abducted mayor Ivan Fedorov for refusing to cooperate with them. Video footage posted by a Ukrainian journalist showed Russian soldiers taking a hooded individual from the mayor's building.

Lashing out at Russia, Zelensky said that Ivan Fedorov bravely defended Ukraine and members of his community. "The kidnapping of the mayor of Melitopol is not only a crime against a particular person or a particular community, but also against Ukraine. This is a crime against democracy. The actions of Russian invaders will be equated with the actions of ISIS terrorists," Zelensky said.