1000 People are Held in Captivity by Insurgents in Donbas

At the moment, there are about a thousand people being held in captivity by militants operating in the east of Ukraine. The prisoner release lists compiled by Ukraine do not affect the situation.

This was reported on the air of Hromadske Radio by a volunteer named Victor Maystrenko, who has been working on the release of prisoners for over a year.

“Both military and civilians who are now in captivity are, above all, citizens of Ukraine. For the Ministry of Defense, the Security Service, and the volunteers, it is important to release everyone: the military, volunteers, and civilians,” says Maystrenko.

At the same time, he says, the prisoner lists prepared by Ukrainians do not affect the situation.

“The lists which are compiled in Ukraine are largely for self-satisfaction. They are rewritten by militants and they free those whom they see fit,” adds Maystrenko.

He notes that people who have relatives that were captured need to write a statement to the Security Service and to call all possible agencies and organizations that are working on the release of prisoners. 

In January, President Petro Poroshenko stated at a meeting with the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Anne Brasseur, and the PACE delegation which visited Ukraine on a working visit, that there are over 600 people in captivity in Donbas and stressed the need to intensify efforts by PACE to release the Ukrainian hostages.