Over 1,000 civilians held captive by Russia in occupied Melitopol alone

A year and two days into the occupation of Melitopol, Kherson region, more than 1,000 residents were captured by Russian invaders.

Melitopol Mayor in exile Ivan Fedorov spoke of this on the air of the national news telethon, Ukrinform reports.

"It’s been a year and two days, and more than 1,000 residents have been captured, while dozens, perhaps even hundreds, have been deported. In recent months, the occupiers have been shooting videos showing people presumably being taken to the farthest checkpoint and then expelled, In fact, after the video is shot, they take those people captive and force them to dig trenches or simply abuse them," says the mayor.

He also recalled that on February 23, 2022, the population amounted to 150,000, while currently, there are no more than 50,000 - 60,000 people remaining. Therefore, almost 100,000 residents were forced to flee the temporarily occupied city.

In addition, Fedorov noted that the enemy forces stage acts of provocation by going door-to-dooe and intimidating the locals, saying the Ukrainian troops will start shooting people once they enter the city.

Earlier it was reported that the enemy brought to town a special spy station to eavesdrop on residents’ communications in mobile networks and online.