New Delhi, India

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Disclaimer: A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia conflict on the ground and online. While WION takes utmost care to accurately report this developing news story, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.

Russian soldiers have kidnapped the mayor of southern Ukraine's Melitopol on Friday (March 11), the country's President Volodymyr Zelensky and Ukrainian officials said. 

The abduction of Ivan Fedorov, who is the mayor of the southeastern city of Melitopol, was captured in CCTV cameras as he was seen being led away by armed men from a government building on Friday. 

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The video, posted by the deputy head of Ukraine's presidential administration, Kirillo Timoshenko, shows soldiers coming out of a building holding a man dressed in black, his head apparently covered with a black bag. 

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Ukraine's ministry of foreign affairs tweeted: "The armed aggression of the RF against #Ukraine is accompanied by gross violations of norms and principles of international law, including int’l humanitarian law. Among such gross violations was the abduction of Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov on March 11." 

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Ukraine's parliament said on Twitter, "A group of 10 occupiers kidnapped the mayor of Melitopol Ivan Fedorov. He refused to cooperate with the enemy." It said the mayor was seized when he was at the city's crisis centre dealing with supply issues. 

Later, Zelensky also confirmed the news. In a video message, he said, "This is obviously a sign of weakness of the invaders... They have moved to a new stage of terror in which they are trying to physically eliminate representatives of legitimate local Ukrainian authorities," he said. 

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He called Fedorov "a mayor who bravely defends Ukraine and the members of his community". He added, "The capture of the mayor of Melitopol is, therefore, a crime, not only against a particular person, against a particular community, and not only against Ukraine. It is a crime against democracy itself... The acts of the Russian invaders will be regarded like those of Islamic State terrorists." 

Disclaimer: WION cannot independently verify the authenticity of photos and videos shared on social media.

Watch the video of abduction here: 

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