Some forty people are held in Slovyansk - Ukrainian Security Service
KYIV. April 28 (Interfax) - The Ukrainian Security Service says self-defense activists in Slovyansk, Donetsk region, are holding some forty people.
"According to our information, some forty people are now held in Slovyansk," Marina Ostapenko, spokesperson for the Ukrainian Security Service, told a briefing in Kyiv on Monday.
These people are OSCE officials and Ukrainian Security Service officers, she said, adding that the self-defense activists have not set any conditions for their release yet.
Ostapenko has accused a group led by Ihor Strelkov, nicknamed "Strelok," of involvement in the abduction of military observers in Slovyansk. "The group led by Strelok has been found to be involved in the abduction of OSCE officials in the Donetsk region," she said.
The Kyiv authorities are calling Ihor Strelkov a special task service officer and a Russian citizen. The Ukrainian Security Service earlier accused the group of involvement in the killing of Volodymyr Rybak, a member of the Horlivka city council from the party Batkivschyna.
In the meantime, Strelkov met with the press over the past weekend and called himself commander of the Donetsk region's self-defense forces. He denied that he is a Russian citizen and a special taskforce officer.