Russian forces kill mayor of town near Kyiv, officials say

KYIV — Russian forces have killed the mayor of Gostomel, a town near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv that is home to a strategic airport, city authorities say.

“The head of Gostomel, Yuri Illich Prylypko, died while distributing bread to the hungry and medicine to the sick,” the city says on its Facebook page.

Prylypko was shot dead along with two others, it says, without specifying when.

“No one forced him to go under the occupiers’ bullets,” it says. “He died for his people, for Gostomel. He died a hero.”

Gostomel, northwest of Kyiv, is home to the strategic Antonov military airport, which was the site of fierce battles between Ukrainian and Russian forces in the first days of the war.