Ukraine Separatists Release US Aid Workers Accused of Spying
Aid group say the two are in a "safe location."
— -- Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine have released two U.S. aid workers captured some 10 days ago, authorities of self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic said early Saturday.
The two Americans were among a group of 37 International Rescue Committee (IRC) staff, when separatists raided their Donetsk offices and detained them at gunpoint. IRC head David Miliband, a former British Labour politician, said two of the seized aid workers "were now in a safe location," but he did not elaborate.
"Every day, the world's humanitarian workers show great courage, taking risks to help the most vulnerable in crisis situations. They should never be targeted," Miliband said in the statement.
The rebel leader in the separatist Donetsk region, Aleksander Zakharchenko, said the two Americans were detained for spying, but have been freed. Zakharchenko claimed one of the U.S. aid workers was a "CIA agent and the other one was recruited."
According to Maria Petrova, spokeswoman for the DNR Security Service, charges against the IRC included the claim that IRC had worked in front-line areas where they gathered information on the deployment of troops.
The rebels accused the aid workers of making contact with various DNR officials in a bid to "gather information."
The separatist authorities provided no proof that the aid workers were spies. Life News, a pro-Kremlin news agency with close ties to the Russian security services, reported that a raid of the group's office had revealed files containing passport details of local residents, electronic eavesdropping equipment, and half a million Ukrainian hrivnias -- worth approximately $25,000 -- in cash.
The IRC stopped its operation in eastern Ukraine after the raid. The group was one of the few international aid agencies working to distribute aid and medical assistance in the separatist-held parts of Ukraine. Among the others are Doctors Without Borders (MSF), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and the Czech agency People in Need (PIN).
The IRC was found in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein and its website says it currently operates in more than 40 countries.
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