Mayor of the Ukrainian city Melitopol was abducted by Russian forces and had a plastic bag placed over his head, officials say

Russian forces kidnapped the mayor of Melitopol on Friday.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine said that Mayor Ivan Fedorov was a war crime because he was taken hostage.

The ministry called on the international community to respond immediately to the abduction of Ivan Fedorov and other civilians, and to increase pressure on Russia to end its barbaric war against the Ukrainian people.

According to the Ukrainian Parliament, Fedorov was kidnapped by 10 people and a plastic bag was placed over his head.

—Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (@ua_parliament) March 11, 2022

The Ministry said that Fedorov's abduction was one of several war crimes committed by Russia.

Russian troops, who have been launching missile and bomb attacks on civilian facilities and infrastructure in Ukraine, including children's hospitals and schools, over the course of two week, are cynically accusing the mayor of terrorism.

In a video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Fedorov's abduction was a sign of Russia's weakness.

Zelenskyy said that the invading forces did not find any support on our land.

Zelenskyy said that since Russia couldn't easily take over cities, their new tactic is to remove elected officials. He called it a crime against democracy and compared it to the terrorists.

The Ukrainian president has said that he and his family are the target of Russia.

Zelenskyy told Ukrainians in an early morning address that the enemy had marked him and his family as targets.

Zelenskyy has survived more than a dozen assassination attempts.