MOSCOW, April 21. /TASS/. Russia's Africa Corps in Mali have liberated one Russian and one Ukrainian nationals who were abducted by terrorists in Niger in July 2024, the Russian defense ministry said.

TASS has summed up what is known about this to this moment.

Rescue operation

A special operation resulted in the release of the employees of a Russian geological exploration company who were kidnapped in July 2024, the Russian defense ministry said.

The men were captured in Niger by the terrorist group Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin’ (affiliates itself with the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda that is outlawed in Russia).

The operation was conducted by the Africa Corps in Mali.

It took the Africa Corps servicemen "literally one hour" to complete the operation, one of the former captives said.

Condition of the released

The two released men are Russian citizen, Oleg Gret, born in 1962, and a citizen of Ukraine, Yury Yurov, born in 1970.

The men who were released from captivity in Mali have been diagnosed with multiple illnesses and severe physical exhaustion.

The former hostages will be transported by Russian military transport aircraft to Moscow for treatment and rehabilitation.

The former captive’s activity

According to one of the former hostages, they were employed by a Russian geological company.

He said that he plans to return after rehabilitation and continue to work as a geologist.