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Kiev’s court extends detention for Russian serviceman abducted in Crimea

KIEV, August 8. /TASS/. Kiev’s Darnitsky District Court has extended until October 6 the detention of Russian serviceman Maxim Odintsov who was abducted from Crimea by the Ukrainian Security Service last November, lawyer Valentin Rybin told a TASS correspondent on Tuesday.

"The arrest has been extended until October 6," he said. According to the lawyer, the next session on the Odintsov case will be held on September 1.

On November 21, 2016, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that the Ukrainian Security Service had abducted ensign Maxim Odintsov and volunteer junior sergeant Alexander Baranov and transported them to the Nikolayev Region, Ukraine. According to a representative of the Russian Black Sea Fleet headquarters, the Russian servicemen had been lured out on Ukraine’s territory "for alleged surrender of witnessed documents that confirmed graduate degrees in Ukrainian universities." The servicemen were detained immediately after crossing the border and charged with treason and desertion. They may be given up to 15 years in prison under Ukrainian law.