Six Ukrainian peacekeepers from the UN mission, who were detained in the Democratic Republic of Congo, have been already been freed and are staying at their military unit's base, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry's spokesman, Yevhen Perebyinis, has said.
“We have no diplomatic mission (in the DPR), that is why the information is scarce. At the moment we know that our peacekeepers have been freed and are staying at the military unit’s base,” he told Interfax-Ukraine on Friday.
He didn’t disclose any other details, noting that the Foreign Ministry was establishing the circumstances of the incident.
Western media reported earlier that the Congolese authorities detained six Ukrainian peacekeepers from the UN Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) after illegally purchased Congolese military uniforms were found in their vehicles. The Ukrainians were detained at Goma airport, near the border with Rwanda. A local supplier of uniforms was also detained. The detainees said they intended to use Congolese military uniforms for hunting in Ukraine.
MONUSCO has about 21,000 troops in eastern Congo.
