Around 10 Ukrainian citizens have been detained in Russia on political grounds and are being kept in several Russian remand centres, the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry’s information policy department, Yevhen Perebyynis, has said on air of the ICTV television channel, the Dzerkalo Tyzhnya site reproted on 8 October.
Speaking of Mykola Karpiuk, a member of UNSO nationalist organization, who was detained in Russia and has been kept in a remand centre since March, Perebyynis said that there are many Ukrainian political prisoners in Russian Federation.
“I am not prepared to talk specifically about Mykola Karpiuk but we know for sure that around 10 Ukrainian citizens are being kept in several remand centres in Russia. Both [pilot] Nadiya Savchenko and those detained together with [film director] Oleh Sentsovare among them. Over the last few days we have received more reports on detention of our citizens,” Perebyynis said.
He said that the Ukrainian embassy and consulate in Russia were doing their utmost to free the Ukrainians being held in Russian custody. He noted though that there had been “almost no” positive response from Russia yet.
Since the Minsk cease-fire agreements were signed on 5 September, Ukraine has been insisting that the political detainees in Russian custody must be freed according to the clause of the Minsk protocol regarding the releasing of all hostages in the conflict.
