Plane carrying Russian citizens Yerofeyev and Alexandrov lands in Vnukovo
MOSCOW. May 25 (Interfax) - The plane carrying Russian citizens Yevgeny Yerofeyev and Alexander Alexandrov, who were convicted in Ukraine, landed at the Moscow Vnukovo Airport on Wednesday afternoon, an Interfax correspondent has reported.
The wives, Yekaterina of Alexandrov, and Yulia of Yerofeyev, met them there.
In a conversation with an Interfax correspondent, Yulia Yerofeyeva admitted that she was very worried about her husband, but was confident that the situation would be resolved favorably.
"Of course, we were looking forward, we were very worried, we hoped that they would come back soon. I believed that no one would abandon them there," she said.
"We were very worried for them," Yekaterina Alexandrova said.
The wives of the released Russians thanked everyone who supported them throughout all these months.
Yevgeny Yerofeyev and Alexander Alexandrov were detained near the town of Schastya, Luhansk region, on May 16, 2015. Kyiv found them to be Russian servicemen. However, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on May 18, that "Russian citizens Alexandrov and Yerofeyev captured by SBU were not in active military service in the Russian Armed Forces at the time of their detention."
On April 18, 2016, the Kyiv Holosiyivsky Court found them guilty of "conducting an aggressive war by the previous concert of a group of people", "terrorist activities" and some other counts of crimes. The court sentenced them to 14 years in prison and confiscation of property. The sentence took effect on May 23, 2016.
Valentin Rybin, a lawyer for Alexandrov, said earlier on Wednesday, that a request to pardon the Russians had been made to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.
