OSCE: captured soldiers are Russians

KYIV – The Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) of the Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) reported on May 20 that it had visited the two Russian soldiers captured on May 16 near the frontline who were being held at the military hospital in Kyiv, where they received medical treatment. The SMM spoke to the two men without the presence of Ukrainian authorities. The SMM assessed their general condition and gathered their accounts about their capture. The SMM reported: “One of them said he had received military education in the Russian Federation. Both individuals claimed that they were members of a unit of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. They claimed that they were on a reconnaissance mission. They were armed but had no orders to attack. Both of them said that they came under fire, got injured and were captured on 16 May 2015 at the contact line near Shchastia. One of them said he had received orders from his military unit to go to Ukraine; he was to ‘rotate’ after three months. Both of them said they had been to Ukraine ‘on missions’ before. One of them stressed repeatedly that there were no Russian troops involved in fighting in Ukraine. Both said they were provided with a Ukrainian lawyer who visited them today.” (OSCE)