Danish authorities say they believe that a group of OSCE observers who went missing in Donetsk region on May 26 evening have been captured by illegal armed gangs from the east of Ukraine, Denmark's Minister for Trade and Development Cooperation Mogens Jensen said.
“I can confirm that we’ve got information that a citizen of Denmark who is among a group of OSCE observers and his three colleagues were seized by armed separatists in Ukraine,” the minister said.
It was reported earlier that the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine had lost contact with one of its teams working in Donetsk region. “The team was on a routine patrol east of Donetsk when contact was lost. We have been unable to re-establish communication until now,” the OSCE said in a statement.
The group with which contact has been lost includes four people, who are citizens of Estonia, Switzerland, Turkey, and Denmark, the mission told Interfax-Ukraine.
Contact with the group was lost at about 6:00 pm Kyiv time on Monday. “We are continuing with our efforts and utilizing our contacts on the ground. The Ukrainian government as well as regional authorities have been informed of the situation,” a mission spokesperson told Interfax-Ukraine.
