KYIV, Ukraine

Russia kidnapped the mayor of a northern Ukrainian city and also opened fire on civilians protesting Russia’s war, Ukrainian authorities claimed Saturday.

Yuriy Fomichev, mayor of the city of Slavutych, was kidnapped by Russian forces after a group of protestors refused to disperse, said Aleksander Pavlyuk, head of the Kyiv Regional Military Administration.

When Russian forces captured the city hospital, locals took to the streets in protest, unfurling a large Ukrainian flag and shouting slogans against Russia, he said.

Russian forces threw sonic charges to disperse the crowd and opened fire into the air, he said.

Images of civil demonstrations in Slavutych and Russians opening fire on civilians were also shared on social media.

The kidnapping claim follows similar claims of mayors of other Ukrainian cities being abducted by Russian forces.

The city was built especially for personnel who evacuated the 1986 Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant disaster.

The Russia-Ukraine war, which began on Feb. 24, has met international outrage, with the EU, US and UK, among others, implementing tough financial sanctions on Moscow.

At least 1,035 civilians have been killed in Ukraine and 1,650 injured, according to UN estimates, while cautioning that the true figure is likely far higher.

More than 3.7 million Ukrainians have also fled to neighboring countries, with millions more displaced inside the country, according to the UN refugee agency.

*Writing by Merve Berker