(26 Apr 2014) A leader for pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine said on Saturday that a group of foreign military observers who have been detained as suspected NATO spies could be released in exchange for jailed pro-Russian activists.
Vyacheslav Ponomarev, self-proclaimed people's mayor of Slovyansk, described the detained observers as captives and said that they were officers from NATO member states.
"As we found maps on them containing information about the location of our checkpoints, we get the impression that they are officers carrying out a certain spying mission," Ponomarev said.
The German-led, eight-member team was travelling under the auspices of the Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) when they were detained in Slovyansk on Friday.
Germany's Defence Ministry said it had had lost contact with the team, which it said also included five Ukrainians.
In a statement released on Saturday, Russia's foreign ministry said it was taking "all measures to resolve the situation", but blamed the authorities in Kiev for failing to secure the safety of the team.
Hundreds of mourners, including Ponomarev, went to a local church to pay respects to a pro-Russian militiaman apparently killed during a clash with Ukrainian government troops earlier in the week.
Ukraine's acting president this week ordered security forces to resume operations in the country's east after the bodies of two people allegedly abducted by pro-Russia militia were found and a military aircraft was reported to have been hit by gunfire.
That came despite an international agreement calling for all sides in Ukraine to refrain from violence and for demonstrators to vacate public buildings.
It did not specifically prohibit security operations, but Ukraine suspended an earlier so-called "anti-terrorist operation" after the accord.
Find out more about AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
Twitter: [ Ссылка ]
Facebook: [ Ссылка ]
Instagram: [ Ссылка ]
You can license this story through AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
