A total of 111 citizens of Ukraine are held hostage by the illegal armed groups operating in the east of Ukraine, the press center of the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) has said.
“There are still 111 hostages kept by the Russian side, nine of them are on the territory of the Russian Federation. 499 people remain unaccounted for,” the statement says.
The SBU also said that 3,082 people were released by the forces of the security services, including 1,484 civilians and 1,598 soldiers and law enforcement officers.
SBU chief Vasyl Hrytsak at a briefing in Kyiv on Friday said that more than 3,000 people have been released since the start of the conflict.
“Our center managed to free 3,082 people from captivity in cooperation with volunteers and assistance of patriotic citizens,” he said.
