REUTERS
Head of the consular department of the Russian Embassy in Ukraine Alexei Gruby at about 1800 Kyiv time on Tuesday left the Kyiv-based hospital where two Russian citizens, members of the Russian General Staff's main intelligence directorate Captain Yevgeny Yerofeyev and Sergeant Alexander Aleksandrov, who were captured in Luhansk region on May 16, are undergoing medical treatment.
The diplomat left the hospital through the back door, trying to avoid meeting with journalists. He answered all the questions in the same way, noting that it was necessary to wait until the Russian Embassy issues an official comment, a TSN correspondent reported.
"They are alive and relatively healthy, which is good. We have met, and this is what matters now," Gruby said.
He also answered a question about whether it is possible to exchange the two Russian soldiers for captive Ukrainian citizens, namely Nadiya Savchenko, who is now in prison in Russia. According to Gruby, the exchange is out of the question until the investigation is underway.
The Russian consul's meeting with Yerofeyev and Aleksandrov lasted for almost two hours on Tuesday. Enhanced security measures were introduced at the hospital while he was meeting with the Russian soldiers.
As UNIAN reported earlier, Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday reported it had finished agreeing procedural issues with the Russian side to let Russian consuls meet with the captive soldiers.
A Russian consul has visited two captive Russian soldiers in a Kyiv hospital.