REUTERS
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko says that talks held as part of the Minsk peace process on the release of Ukrainian hostages kept by terrorists in Russian-occupied Donbas are deadlocked.
"The release of hostages within the Minsk process is completely deadlocked," he said at the 72nd UN General Assembly session in New York City on Wednesday, September 20.
"A list of Ukrainian hostages in Donbas grows constantly. People are captured deliberately. Their only fault is that they have a pro-Ukrainian position," he said.
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Ukraine's SBU Security Service earlier reported that 144 people are now hostages held by Russian-backed militants, another 410 people are reported missing.