The mayor of Melitopol Ivan Fedorov informed on January 30, 2023, that about a thousand residents have been kidnapped in Melitopol since the beginning of the Russian occupation. Several thousand were forcibly relocated to other regions or Russia.
Source: The mayor of Melitopol Ivan Fedorov
Repressions and deportations have become commonplace in the Russian-occupied southern city of Ukraine.
“For almost a year of occupation, almost 1,000 of our residents were kidnapped in the city of Melitopol alone. Today, hundreds are still in captivity in various cities,” explained the mayor of Melitopol.
According to Ivan Fedorov, Russians also illegally transported to Russian-occupied Crimea (south of Ukraine) at least 3.5 thousand Ukrainian prisoners who were in local correctional institutions.
In addition, the mayor of Melitopol noted that recently Russian troops issued a decree on the legalization of prisons and torture chambers in the occupied territories of Ukraine. There are also such in Melitopol.
See also: More than 700 Ukrainian civilians are in Russian captivity in the Zaporizhzhia region
