Russian embassy workers detained in Kyiv freed, says Russian Foreign Ministry
Two workers of the Russian embassy to Ukraine who were detained in Kyiv earlier this week have been freed, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported on Saturday.
“Due to efforts that have been undertaken, two workers of the embassy of the Russian Federation to Ukraine responsible for the foreign mission’s security, who were detained in Kyiv, were freed today and have returned to their home country,” it said.
Earlier on Saturday, the Russian embassy in Kyiv officially declared the disappearance of Third Secretary Andrei Golovanov and Attache Mikhail Shorin on Ukrainian territory.
“The Interior Ministry department for Kyiv made a statement in which it publicly denied the detention of the two employees of the Russian Embassy in Kyiv by Ukrainian law enforcement bodies. In this connection, the Russian Embassy in Kyiv points out that Ukraine had documentarily acknowledged the fact of the Russian diplomats’ detention in a Ukrainian Foreign Ministry note of August 27,” the embassy said.
“Considering so contradictory statements by Ukrainian government bodies, the Russian Embassy to Ukraine has to officially declare the disappearance of Third Secretary Golovanov and Attache Shorin on Ukrainian territory,” the embassy said.
The Russian embassy workers were detained on August 27. Kyiv said they were held at the city department of the Ukrainian Security Service.