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Defense Ministry confirms seizure of several dozen Ukrainian Marines by
Russian troops in Feodosia
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry has confirmed that from 60 to 80
servicemen of the first separate Feosodia Marines battalion of the
Ukrainian Navy have been captured by Russian troops in Crimea.
"At around 0420 on March 24, Russian invaders in Crimea, grossly
violating the preliminary agreement to hold talks on a truce, started
assaulting the first separate Feodosia Marines battalion of the
Ukrainian Navy. Russian troops landed from two Mi-8 helicopters on the
territory of the Ukrainian military unit when the assault began. A pair
of Russian Mi-24s supported the landing of the troops from the air," the
ministry's press service reported.
Moreover, the Russian side used stun grenades and automatic weapons,
including machine guns. Russian Armed Forces servicemen surrounded the
perimeter of the battalion, blocked the road to it with two armored
personnel carriers and started seizing the barracks.
"Several URAL trucks, with tied up Ukrainian Marines on board, left the
territory of the Marines battalion at 0600. According to preliminary
reports, several Ukrainian servicemen sustained various injuries as a
result of the assault. The most injured were the battalion's commander,
Lieutenant Colonel Dmytro Deliatytsky, and his assistant on work with
staff, Major Rostyslav Lomtev, whom the attackers pushed to the ground
and kicked them in the face. After that the two Ukrainian officers were
taken by helicopter to an unknown location," reads the report.
The Defense Ministry also reported that Russian military had prevented
the injured Ukrainian servicemen from being sent to hospitals to undergo
the necessary medical care.
From 60 to 80 Ukrainian Marines have currently been detained and are
actually in the captivity of Russian military at the Feodosia maritime
port. Constant psychological pressure is being exerted on them.
According to the servicemen of the Marines battalion, "the main demand
of the Russian invaders is the forced removal from Crimea to the
mainland Ukraine of officers of the Ukrainian military unit, and only
after that other representatives of the personnel will be released from
captivity."
The Defense Ministry also said that the question of granting these
Ukrainian servicemen the status of "combatants" and providing them with
other guarantees and social benefits was currently being considered at a
high level.
Interfax-Ukraine
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