Thread by @PaulaChertok

🚨Abduction of #Melitopol Mayor "chillingly reminiscent of the lawlessness, the abductions & forced disappearances, especially of Crimean Tatars, that Russia brought to Crimea with its invasion in 2014."—@halyapuff of Kharkiv Human Rights group, tracking Russian crimes in Ukraine

https://twitter.com/halyapuff/status/1502397241461465091

@halyapuff "Fedorov Is Our Mayor!"—2000 Ukrainians protested today demanding Russian invaders release #Melitopol Mayor, abducted y'day by Russian soldiers—who took him away with a bag over his head. Olha Haisumova, coordinator of daily Melitopol protests since invasion began, also abducted.

@halyapuff Ukraine: Detention of Melitopol Mayor By Armed Men A "War Crime"

"This is different from a military offensive. This is an elected official grabbed in broad daylight…arrested for terrorism—'an absolute lie'—Zelensky says," @salmaCNN reports on Russia threat to Ukraine democracy.

@halyapuff @SalmaCNN 🔥@salmaCNN: "These types of incidences give you a broad sense of the fear. It's not just about the bombs & the bullets. It's about siege, cutting off, hunger, losing your elected officials."—@salmaCNN

🔥@AndersonCooper: Clearly looks like Russia is decapitating elected leaders.

https://twitter.com/PaulaChertok/status/1502665671661932544

@halyapuff @SalmaCNN @andersoncooper Putin has flipped the world on its head. Russia invades a sovereign country. Kidnaps its elected leaders. Then arrests & tortures those leaders as "terrorists," b/c they won't break their oaths of office or allegiance to their country in the face of slaughter in Russia's invasion

https://twitter.com/MPMaria_Ionova/status/1502661641799979010