"We are informed about today’s joint show of the General Staff of Ukraine and the SBU, dedicated to the alleged detention of two Russian soldiers in Luhansk region,” the ministry said in a statement released on Monday evening, quoting official representative of the ministry, Major-General Igor Konashenkov.
“The citizens of Russia, Alexandr Alexandrov and Yevgeniy Yerofeyev, captured by the SBU in Luhansk region, at the time of their arrest on May 17 were not servicemen of the Russian armed forces," Konashenkov said.
The two Russian soldiers were in fact captured by the Aidar volunteer battalion. According to Aidar soldiers, the Russians were on a sabotage mission against a key heat and power plant in the town of Shastya. The Ukrainian military later showed off one of the soldiers' weapons - an AS Val silenced automatic rifle, which is used by Russia's special forces.
"We checked the information of the Ukrainian side: these guys had previously served in one of the units of the Russian armed forces and had a military training. Moreover, I can confirm that we were approached by the leadership of the association of veterans of the special forces with the request to turn through official channels to the General Staff of Ukraine in order to stop the abuse of their wounded comrades on the part of the SBU," Konashenkov said.
According to Konashenkov, the association of veterans of the special forces said that this had been an urgent request.
"I would also like to recall that during the civil war in the southeast of Ukraine, dozens or even hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers and fighters of the so-called territorial battalions have been repeatedly detained in the Russian Federation. And the attitude to them was in full compliance with international standards, and after the necessary assistance was provided, all of them returned to their families and relatives. We believe in a good sense of the Ukrainian leadership and the fast release of Aleksandr Aleksandrov and Yevgeniy Yerofeyev," Konashenkov said.
As UNIAN reported earlier, Russian special forces soldiers killed a Ukrainian soldier Vadym Puhachiov during the fighting. He received six gunshot wounds and died in hospital.
On May 18, spokesperson for the Russian president Dmitriy Peskov said that no Russian troops had been in Ukraine.
"Of course, I can’t confirm this, because we are not the people to answer such questions. We and the Ministry of Defense have repeatedly said that no Russian troops have been in the Donbas," Peskov said.
"I can’t comment on the materials. I think that our specialists or the Ministry of Defense should rather do this," he said.
SBU Chairman Valentyn Nalyvaichenko said that the Russian military would be put on trial under Art. 258 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine for their participation in a terrorist organization.
