Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on Sunday 11 local community leaders have been kidnapped by Russian forces, according to AFP.

"Up to today, 11 heads of local communities in the regions of Kyiv, Kherson, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv and Donetsk are in captivity," she said in a video message posted on her Telegram account. Donetsk declared itself an "independent republic" in 2014, which Ukraine has yet to recognize.

Vereshchuk urged "everyone to do everything in their power to get them back."

There has been no response from Russia yet.