Melitopol Mayor Detained
Melitopol Mayor detained by Russians is a “crime against democracy,” Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky. Friday morning, the mayor of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov was escorted by military men from the government building. Russian-backed Luhansk regional prosecutor claimed Fedorov had committed terrorism and was under investigation.
“They did not find any support on our land, although they counted on it. Because for years they’ve been lying to themselves that people in Ukraine were supposedly waiting for Russia to come.
“This is Ukraine here. It is Europe here. It is a democratic world here,” Zelensky said.
Zelensky added it’s “not only against a particular person, not only against a particular community and not only against Ukraine.”
“This is a crime against democracy,” he said.
Geneva Convention prohibits civilian hostages from being taken according to Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry.
Diplomatic Channels
The war has been raging for three weeks now and there are no signs that diplomatic channels will work. The diplomatic talks between the two nations have not yielded any result. Humanitarian corridors were not decided and ceasefires on these areas have been questioned. As the civilian loss continues, both sides are now arguing about chemical weapons development.
“A variety of different countries can try to shape things as they would like, but at the end of the day, this will likely boil down to what President Zelensky is willing to accept and what President Putin is willing to accept,” said a senior State Department official.
Much of the world has already given sanctions against Russia in the hopes that this will cripple their economy. The sanctions have not led to any solutions as both sides have had their own arguments.
Many international companies have also exited Russia as a protest against the war. This did not seem to have an effect since Russians continue to advance into the city. Although the operation’s main goal is unclear, part of the updates is surfacing. Initially, the operation was said to be about the “denazification” of Ukraine. However, chemical weapons have been put into the spotlight recently as documents surface about their development in Ukraine.