On Wednesday 29 June, the spokesperson for the European External Action Service condemned “in the strongest possible terms” the kidnapping of the democratically elected mayor of Kherson, Ihor Kolykhayev, by invading Russian forces and called for his “immediate and unconditional” release.
“We demand an immediate end to these illegal intimidation tactics and the unconditional release of all detained and abducted Ukrainian civilians”, he said in a statement.
The spokesperson also strongly condemned the announced preparations for an illegal fake ‘referendum’ in parts of the Kherson region on joining the Russian Federation. “Such attempts represent a blatant violation of international law, the Ukrainian constitution and Ukrainian sovereignty by the Kremlin and its proxies”, he denounced. He warned that the result of “such an orchestrated illegitimate vote” would not be recognised by the international community.
He said that Russia, its political leaders and all those involved in the ongoing violations of international law in Ukraine would be held to account. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)