The Mayor of Kherson, Ihor Kolykhaiev, has been kidnapped – this is according to his advisor Halyna Liashevska.
Kolykhaiev has become one of a number of Ukrainian mayors kidnapped during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in which it seeks to undermine democracy and replace democratically elected politicians with pro-Kremlin officials.
In the southern town of Dniprorudne, mayor Yevheniy Matvieyev was abducted by Russian troops on March 13. The mayor of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov, was abducted a week earlier, triggering protests by Ukrainian citizens and calls by President Volodymyr Zelensky for his immediate release.
“The EU strongly condemns the kidnapping of the mayors of Melitopol and Dniprorudne by Russian armed forces,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a post on Twitter.
No further details have been provided regarding today’s kidnapping of Kolykhaiev, who was elected in the 2020 Ukrainian local elections. His advisor simply confirmed on Facebook: “They took Ihor Kolykhayev.”
The mayor was reportedly in his office where executive committee staffers, who remained in the city, moved to after Kherson was captured by the Russians. He was escorted out of his office in handcuffs.
This is a breaking story. Kyiv Post will provide further updates in due course.
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