De jure mayor of Kherson Ihor Kolykhaiev is detained by Russian security forces after Russian-installed officials say he refused to follow orders. Local officials claim he has been abducted.
On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War that began in 2014. The Russo-Ukrainian War is an ongoing war between Russia (together with pro-Russian separatist forces) and Ukraine. Kherson is the administrative centre of Kherson Oblast in the south of Ukraine, and it is a major economic center. Ihor Viktorovych Kolykhaiev is a Ukrainian politician and entrepreneur who has served as mayor of Kherson since the 2020 Ukrainian local elections. Kolykhaiev is also a People’s Deputy of Ukraine, elected in the 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election.
Russia-installed officials in Ukraine’s Kherson region announced their security forces had detained Kherson city mayor Ihor Kolykhayev on 28th June, Tuesday after he refused to follow Moscow’s orders. But a Kherson local official said the mayor was abducted by Russian force.