BBC Online :
Seven international military observers taken captive in eastern Ukraine a week ago have been released.
Five Ukrainian officers captured with the observers, who are linked to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, were also freed.
Pro-Russian separatists in the town of Sloviansk say they released the OSCE observers “without conditions”.
The news came as Ukraine’s government said it had resumed military action to tackle the separatists in the east. Russia, accused by the West of being behind the unrest, says it “no longer has any influence” over the separatists. Moscow also accused Kiev and the West of responsibility for Friday’s violence in the south-western city of Odessa, which left at least 36 people dead.
Both the OSCE and Vyacheslav Ponomaryov, a leader of the insurgency in the east, confirmed the releases.
A second day of military operations is under way to try to reassert central control here in eastern Ukraine and in particular in the city of Sloviansk, which has become the stronghold of pro-Russian groups.
Ukraine’s interior minister has been saying “we will not stop” – suggesting that, unlike in the past when Ukrainian troops have moved in and then withdrawn, these operations will continue.
The interior ministry is also very angry that Moscow has been talking of Kiev carrying out “punitive actions” in the east and that it has been firing on civilians. The government in Ukraine is anxious that it does not give any pretext for Russia to send in its troops. That pretext would be that civilians – Russian-speaking citizens – were in danger and needed protection.
Pro-Russian groups have spoken again of needing peacekeeping troops. That would include Russians coming in to protect civilians – obviously something Kiev wants to avoid.
“As I promised them, we celebrated my birthday yesterday and they left. As I said, they were my guests,” Ponomaryov said.
Russia had sent an envoy to negotiate the releases.
But President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman in Moscow, Dmitry Peskov, said: “From now on Russia essentially has lost its influence over these people because it will be impossible to convince them to lay down arms when there’s a direct threat to their lives.”
One of the observers, German Col Axel Schneider, told Associated Press news agency the team had “a very good attitude and that gave them the strength to stand the situation”.
