(25 Apr 2014) The self-declared mayor of the pro-Russian separatist stronghold of Slovyansk in eastern Ukraine indicated on Friday that the separatists may be holding a group of Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) monitors, but gave no further details.
Vyacheslav Ponomarev said the members of the organisation were detained because among them the insurgents spotted a Ukrainian military official among the rest of the members of the organisation.
"After an investigation we will see what we are to do with them," he said.
The OSCE wrote on Twitter that they had lost communication with the German-led team, but that all members of the OSCE monitoring team were safe.
Germany's Defence Ministry said it had lost contact with the team, which it said was made up of eight people - three German soldiers, a German translator and one soldier each from the Czech Republic, Poland, Sweden and Denmark.
Earlier, his spokeswoman Stella Khorosheva said the group possessed "suspicious materials," but said they were unharmed and would be released after further investigation.
However, the ministry couldn't confirm reports from Ukraine that they were being held by separatists.
But Czech military spokesman Jana Ruzickova confirmed that the team was detained.
Ponomarev also insisted Friday the insurgents have captured at least 40 Ukrainian soldiers.
The claim could not be verified and Ponomarev did not offer any credible proof that the soldiers were in detention.
Ponomarev did not say how the troops were captured or where they were being held.
The conflict in Ukraine has often been a scene of a propaganda war with unverified information being published by both sides.
Pro-Russian insurgents have seized police stations and government buildings in at least 10 cities and towns in eastern Ukraine in April.
Militia groups have kidnapped several journalists over the past week in the increasingly unstable region.
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