MOSCOW, March 3. /TASS/. Gunmen from Ukrainian volunteer battalions have kidnapped an Orthodox priest from a monastery near the town of Ugledar in eastern Ukraine, the Donetsk News Agency said on Tuesday, citing speaker of parliament of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) Andrey Purgin.

"The monastery is located in the territory occupied by the Ukrainian army. On Tuesday afternoon, several men in military uniform and masks on their faces coaxed hieromonk Feofan (Georgy Kratirov) from the monastery and took him to an unknown location," Purgin said, adding that this incident was reported by eyewitnesses.

Purgin said that hieromonk Feofan was known for his contribution to searches for remains of soldiers killed during the Second World War. "This pretext was used to make him leave the monastery," he said.