President Zelensky says occupiers “have entered a new phase of terror as they detained Melitopol Mayor”

In the southeastern city of Melitopol, Mayor Ivan Fedorov was seen on video being led away by armed men from a government building on Friday, CNN reports.

According to President Zelensky, the occupiers have entered a new phase of terror, as "they are trying to physically destroy representatives of the legitimate government of Ukraine.”

The prosecutor's office for the separatist, Russian-backed Luhansk region now says they are weighing terrorism charges against him. Fedorov's detention by the armed men is the first known instance of a Ukrainian political official being detained and investigated by Russian, or Russian-backed forces, since the invasion began.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry published a strongly worded statement on Facebook, calling Fedorov's detention an "abduction" and a "war crime."