By Jessica Easthope
Gun shots and blasts thunder through the streets of Skadovsk. Ukrainian citizens were protesting the detention of their mayor when they faced-off against Russian forces.
“This is a terror tactic. Grab local officials. Depose local governments.They’re also likely to systematically kidnap local officials and replace them with puppets,” said U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. “Again, this has already begun. The mayor of Melitopol was grabbed off the street several days ago and released yesterday in a prisoner exchange. The mayor of another city in southern Ukraine was also kidnapped. He hasn’t yet been let go.”
The United States State Department confirmed an American citizen has been killed by Russian shelling in Chernihiv. The advisor to Ukraine’s interior minister identified the victim as 67-year-old James Whitney Hill from Minnesota. Hill was among several people killed when Russian artillery opened fire on civilians.
“We don’t know where my brother’s body is,”said Katya Hill, sister of James Whitney Hill, “…that kind of closure the family won’t have right now.”
After U.S. intelligence reports that China is showing openness to aid Russia in their invasion of Ukraine, President Biden is now set to speak with Chinese president Xi Jinping on Friday.
“This is a conversation about where President Xi stands,” said White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki. “It’s up to the Chinese to decide where they want to stand, where they want to be, as the history books are written.”