Almost 550 People Are Abducted in Zaporizhia Region, 208 Are Held Hostage – Oleksandr Starukh224 People, Including 41 Children, Managed to Leave the Temporarily Occupied Territory the Day Before — Head of Zaporizhia Oblast Military Administration

In Zaporizhia region, the invaders have abducted almost 550 people, 208 of them are held hostage, including two heads of local administrations. Oleksandr Starukh, Head of Zaporizhia Oblast Military Administration, made this report during the briefing in Media Center Ukraine — Ukrinform.

“The captured Ievhen Matvieiev, Mayor of Dniprorudne city, and Ivan Samoidiuk, First Deputy Mayor of Enerhodar, are still being held hostage. There is information that they are alive. It is clear that they are held in difficult conditions, because people have been held hostage since March. Unfortunately, they are not put up for exchange and are not given away,” Oleksandr Starukh said.

He also commented on reports about the forced moving-out of children from Kamianka and Enerhodar and the total number of abducted residents of the region.

“All the children are in place. In early April, we managed to remove all the children from two orphanages. Those adopted in families — their parents were killed; those taken by relatives… There are quite a lot of such children there. The vast majority of situations are under control. Through adoption services, child rights protection services, and communities, we try to ensure  that no such situations occur. There are a lot of high-profile statements, but each statement must be supported by a real evidence base. If we know that almost 550 people were abducted and 208 of them were held hostage, including two heads of local administrations, we know this for sure. But all information should be objective,” Oleksandr Starukh said.

The Head of Oblast Military Administration added that he also has no information about children who were allegedly abducted in Kherson and stay in Berdiansk. Oleksandr Starukh explained that the Oblast Military Administration learned this from the Telegram channel, but they have no official confirmation.

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