Russia demands release of ‘illegally detained’ soldiers

Russia has demanded the release of two soldiers who were snatched by Ukrainian agents at the de-facto border of the disputed Crimean peninsula.

Ukrainian officials say Maxim Odintsov and Andrei Baranov face charges of treason and desertion for abandoning Ukraine's armed forces and joining the Russian military when Moscow annexed Crimea in spring 2014.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) released video footage of the men's arrest, which showed a short chase and scuffle amid a queue of cars waiting in northern Crimea to cross between Russian- and Ukrainian-run territory.

"These people were arrested on territory controlled by Ukraine. It has been established that they are former servicemen of the armed forces of Ukraine who did not obey a directive to leave Crimea when the peninsula was occupied by the Russian Federation," said Ukrainian defence ministry spokesman Alexander Motuzyanik.

“By doing this, they betrayed their military oath and there are corresponding criminal cases against them.”

Gross provocation

Russia’s defence ministry, by contrast, said the two men were “illegally detained and removed from Crimea by Ukrainian security forces”

“We consider that these actions of the Ukrainian special forces toward Russian citizens are yet another gross provocation and demand their immediate return to Russian territory,” the ministry said in a statement.

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov called the incident "an illegal provocation, conducted by the special services of Ukraine on the territory of the Russian Federation against Russian citizens".

“Our law-enforcement agencies are dealing with this,” he said.

Both Ukrainian and Russian officials said the men had travelled to the de-facto border of Crimea – which under international law is still part of Ukraine – to collect documents from a courier.

“They wanted to get documents about their higher education so they could become Russian officers,” said SBU chief Vasyl Hrytsak, adding that they sought to “lure” the courier to Moscow-controlled territory.

Mass protests

Ukraine has said that more than 1,300 military and intelligence personnel joined Russia’s security forces after the annexation of Crimea, which was part of Moscow’s response to mass protests in Ukraine which ousted its then pro-Kremlin leader, Viktor Yanukovich, and pivoted the country towards the West.

“We are trying to see how these people travel sometimes to Ukraine and other countries and are doing all we can to bring them to justice,” Mr Hrytsak said.

Earlier this month, Russian forces in Crimea claimed to have arrested several members of what it called a “sabotage-terrorist group” of Ukrainian military intelligence officers.

Amid Ukraine’s continuing battle with Russian-backed separatists in eastern provinces, rights groups say both sides often abduct people to use as “currency” in prisoner exchanges, with military and intelligence staff of particular value.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin continues to strengthen its military positions in the wider region.

Russian media reported this week that new high-tech anti-ship missiles had been sent to the country's Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad – which sits between Poland and Lithuania. Officials said powerful S-400 and nuclear-capable Iskander rockets would be deployed there in response to US plans for a missile defence system in central Europe.