MOSCOW, June 10. /ITAR-TASS/. The Zvezda (Star) television reporters who were released from captivity in Ukraine told a press conference in Moscow how they were held almost without food and water, were threatened with five-year imprisonment and barred from talking with other prisoners.

“Bags were put on our heads. A helicopter arrived and took us away. We were beaten up a little there. Then, we were placed apart in cells and questioned. We remained with the bags on our heads. Imagine a sauna for three days at the temperature of 40-45 degrees we were held there,” TV cameraman Andrei Sushenkov said.

Masked strong burly people in camouflage uniform without identification marks beat them sometimes, when questioning whether they worked for some intelligence services.

There was no place to sleep, only lying on the floor, Sushenkov said. There were other detained people local residents, but the reporters were prohibited from talking with them.

TV correspondent Anton Malyshev said they were constantly threatened with five years in prison. “We were said that nobody remembered us in Russia. The guys always demonstratively showed guns in their hands and beat us on the kidneys, livers and heads where no black-and-blue marks would be left,” Malyshev said.

They were blamed mainly for the fact that according to the documents they had arrived to cover the Ukrainian president's inauguration, but were found in Donetsk. Malyshev explained that after the inauguration he intended to go without delay to Donbass, and therefore they headed for the region.

After Russia's repeated demands, the journalists were handed over to Russian diplomats, who accompanied them to Russia's territory.