PRETORIA, January 13. /TASS/. The Russian nationals detained in South Sudan on Wednesday, including Ilya Varlamov and Pyotr Verzilov, arrived in the South Sudanese town of Kapoeta from Uganda on a plane rented in this country, Russia’s embassy to Uganda told TASS.
"They hired the plane in Uganda, and on it they fly to South Sudan," the spokesperson said.
Ilya Varlamov reported in the past hour that the pilots had been detained as well.
Earlier in the day, Russia’s embassy to Uganda, which has concurrent accreditation to South Sudan, received a message from Russian nationals Ilya Varlamov and Pyotr Verzilov after their detention in the South Sudanese town of Kapoeta.
"We are now in constant contact with the detainees over the phone," a spokesperson for the Russian diplomatic mission told TASS. "We are holding corresponding consultations with all the concerned parties."
Russia has no diplomatic missions in South Sudan. TASS learnt that none of the Russian diplomats had gone to South Sudan from either Uganda or any other African country as of yet.
On Wednesday, Varlamov wrote on his website that he had been detained in South Sudan along with Pyotr Verzilov, the Mediazona publisher and a member of the Voina art group, and three other Russians. Later, he pointed out that their phones had been seized and then they had been arrested.