Insurgents who are holding 2 groups from the OSCE mission in Donbas captive, have not put forward any demands

06.20.2014
Translated and edited by Voices of Ukraine

Michael Bociurkiw, spokesperson for the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine

Michael Bociurkiw, a spokesperson of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine announced the following at a briefing in the Ukraine Crisis Media Center, according to a UNIAN correspondent:

“We are often asked about the state of our colleagues, where they are, how is their health. We cannot say much because the situation is still not resolved. The experts with whom I spoke said that this is a complex and unique situation–that people who are holding them, have not put forward any demands,” said Bociurkiw.

According to Bociurkiw, the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission calls for the immediate release of their colleagues. “We continue to call for their immediate and unconditional release,” said the spokesman. As Bociurkiw noted, “We have now been able to re-establish contact, which of course comes as a big relief to us, we can tell you from the information we’ve pieced together that their all unharmed and in not too bad shape.”

“Much is happening behind the scenes to ensure their release. We are using all the channels, are grateful for the active support of Member States and, of course, for the active participation of the Ukrainian government,” said Bociurkiw.

As UNIAN reported earlier, in late May, the OSCE has lost contact with two monitoring teams of the Special Monitoring Mission, the Donetsk-based team of 4 international civilians, and the Luhansk-based team of 4 international civilians, with a total number of eight people who worked in the Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts.

In early June, the representative of the self-proclaimed “Donetsk People’s Republic” Andrei Purgin announced that the observers were being kept in Severodonetsk [city in Luhansk Oblast], noting that their presence was a guarantee that there would be no military action in the city.

The SBU reported about the involvement of “Cossack” structures that support the separatists in Donbas, in the kidnapping of observers.

WATCH VIDEO: Introduction in Ukrainian, Michael Bociurkiw speaks in English