Kyiv reports that eight Ukrainian soldiers were detained in DPR
The Joint Forces Operation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that eight Ukrainian servicemen were detained near Donetsk, according a message posted to the Facebook page of the operation’s command.
This happened near the settlement of Novotroitsk in the early morning of May 22. The detainees were driving a truck near Novotroitsk, but, “deviated from the set route and entered the temporarily occupied territory.”
At the same time, People's Militia authorities in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) reported the detention of a group of “Ukrainian saboteurs”.
“Upon being detained, we seized the soldiers’ uniforms, license plates, government-issued documents as well as explosives similar to those used by the People’s Militia. The detainees are being investigated,” the statement reads.
The number of detainees was not reported. President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky, who took office on May 20, said earlier that peace in the Donbas can be achieved after both sides release all the Ukrainian prisoners of war. The armed conflict in eastern Ukraine started in 2014. According to the UN, it has taken the lives of 13 thousand people.