Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that as of December 2024, at least 6 Ukrainian mayors and community leaders remain in Russian captivity.
Zelenskyy made this statement during the International Human Rights Conference, "The Decade 2014–2024: Reclaiming Human Rights. Preserving Democracy."
"Recently, it became known that the mayor of one of the occupied Ukrainian cities, Yevhen Matvieiev, the mayor of Dniprorudne in Zaporizhzhia, died in Russian captivity," Zelenskyy said.
"He was captured back in March 2022 while trying to assist people in his community. Currently, at least 6 other mayors and community leaders remain in Russian captivity," he added.
According to Zelenskyy, Ukraine values any effective involvement from its partners but urges them to take a more active role in securing the release of all Ukrainians held in Russian captivity and holding Russian war criminals accountable.
"We need the majority of the world on our side in this effort to ensure that deportations and child abductions never become normalized anywhere. Are we receiving significant support from organizations like the UN or the International Committee of the Red Cross to protect and return Ukrainian prisoners from Russia? Honestly, no," Zelenskyy stated.
He reported that Ukraine has successfully rescued 3,767 Ukrainians from Russian captivity by engaging mediators and exploring various negotiation, political, and legal avenues.
"We believe it is not just a crime that Russia continues to detain and abuse so many of our people, but also a crime that much of the world still fails to do everything possible to end this atrocity, return the captives, and hold Russia accountable for the horrors unleashed by its war," Zelenskyy emphasized.
On December 4, the Governor of the Zaporizhzhia region reported that the mayor of the temporarily occupied city of Dniprorudne in Zaporizhzhia region, Yevhen Matvieiev, who was abducted by Russian forces over 2 years ago, was tortured while in captivity. His body was returned to Ukraine during the latest prisoner exchange.
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