Mayor Ivan Fedorov of Melitopol, Ukraine spoke to the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium on Wednesday and indicated that Russia's invasion is not targeted at just Ukraine or Europe, but against the world as a whole.
He said the conflict is "a full-scale war — not only against Ukraine, but against the entire civilized world," according to CNN.
Fedorov went on to say that there needs to be a response to Russia's "significant threat" or else he believes that "war will come to European cities and households."
The Mission of Ukraine to the EU tweeted updates of Fedorov at the European Parliament Committee meeting on Wednesday.
"Ivan Fedorov, Mayor of Melitopol, at @EP_ForeignAff Committee: Ukraine & my city made our [European Union] choice before Putin unleashed full fledged war against [Ukraine]," the tweet said. "We shall unite for our common victory, otherwise the war will come to EU countries. With your help we will win for sure."
They followed that up by calling for increased sanctions on Russia and asked for more military assistance to help the Ukrainian forces.
"Mayor of Melitopol Ivan Fedorov and members of @ua_parliament Maria Mesentseva and Olena Khomenko paid a visit to Brussels. At the meetings at @EP_ForeignAff @EU_Commission @eu_eeas they called on to increase sanction pressure on [Russia] & provide [Ukraine] w/ more weapons to #StopRussianWar," the tweet said.
Fedorov was detained by Russian forces on March 11 for nearly a week after they had seized the city of Melitopol. He was eventually released in a prisoner exchange on March 16, according to Reuters.
Fedorov spoke in Rome on Sunday after meeting with Pope Francis and detailed the hours of "hard" interrogations he went through.
"It was a dangerous six days because I understood that for Russians my life and the lives of civilians were worth zero," Fedorov said.
Fedorov then said that Russia wanted to use him as an example, showing what they could do if they do not win the war. He noted that the Russian forces did not physically torture him, but he was tested psychologically.
"They came to me at night with five or seven soldiers and spoke for about four or five hours, hard dialogue," Fedorov said.
"They wanted to make an example of me about what would happen if we did not agree to what the Russians wanted," Fedorov told Reuters and the Italian newspaper Il Messaggero.
The mayor said that he's spoken to the Pope about visiting Ukraine, adding that "maybe he can stop this war."
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