The Russian Ministry of Defense is counting on the release of its “former” military personnel

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation is counting on the prudence of Ukraine and the release of former military personnel, who were captured in the Luhansk region.

This was stated by the official representative of the department, Major General Igor Konashenkov.

“We were informed about a joint show organized today by the General Staff of Ukraine and the SBU, dedicated to the detention of allegedly two Russian servicemen in the Lugansk region. Russian citizens Alexander Alexandrov and Evgeniy Yerofeyev, captured by the SBU in the Lugansk region, were not active servicemen of the Russian Armed Forces at the time of their detention on May 17,” he said.

“We checked the information from the Ukrainian side: these guys actually served in one of the formations of the Russian Armed Forces and have military training. Moreover, I can confirm that the leadership of the Association of Special Forces Veterans approached us with a request to go through official channels to the General Staff of Ukraine in order to stop the abuse of their wounded comrades by SBU officers in the process of extracting favorable testimony,” he added.
According to Konashenkov, the association of special forces veterans emphasizes that this is their urgent request.

“I would also like to remind you that during the civil war in the south-east of Ukraine, dozens and even hundreds of Ukrainian military personnel and soldiers of the so-called “territorial” battalions were repeatedly detained on the territory of the Russian Federation. Moreover, the attitude towards them was fully consistent with international standards and after providing the necessary assistance, all of them freely returned to their family and friends within a short time. We count on the prudence of the Ukrainian leadership and the speedy release of Alexander Alexandrov and Yevgeny Yerofeyev,” the general emphasized.

Earlier, five Russian servicemen, who had recently completed their contractual service ahead of schedule, told Reuters about their involvement in the military conflict in Ukraine and the reasons for which they decided to leave the army.