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Putin slams detention of Russian servicemen on Ukrainian border as 'treacherous'

The Russian Foreign Ministry has said the Ukrainian secret services staged a provocation against Russian citizens

© Sofia Bobok/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

MOSCOW, November 23. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has described the detention of Russian military on the border with Ukraine as a treacherous act identical to the termination of thermal and electric power supply for Crimea.

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"I believe that this treachery (detention of Russian military servicemen) will eventually backfire on those who take such actions. It was like termination of power supply for Crimea on New Year’s eve in winter time," Putin told the media.

On Monday evening the Russian Defense Ministry said that the Ukrainian Security Service SBU had abducted and took to the territory of the Nikolayev Region non-commissioned officer Maksim Odintsov and junior sergeant Aleksandr Baranov. As follows from a statement by a spokesman for the Black Sea Fleet’s headquarters, both men were lured into Ukrainian territory by figureheads "ostensibly for getting certified documents confirming they had received higher education at Ukrainian universities."

The moment they crossed the border both men were detained.

The Russian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday said the Ukrainian secret services staged a provocation against Russian citizens.

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Ukraine crisis Foreign policy

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