Moscow vows to monitor fate of Russian servicemen detained by Kiev

The Kremlin said Tuesday that it is closely monitoring the situation concerning two Russian servicemen reportedly detained by the Ukrainian security service (SBU).

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the two servicemen, ensign Maksim Odintsov and contract service junior sergeant Alexander Baranov, were detained on Sunday at a checkpoint on the border with Ukraine.

"They are citizens of the Russian Federation. In this case, it is the main thing," the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted by the RIA Novosti news agency as saying, adding that "proper authorities" of Russia are monitoring the situation.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the detention was an "illegal provocation."

Earlier in the day, an unnamed spokesperson of Russia's Black Sea Fleet was quoted by Novosti as saying that the SBU has lured the two servicemen into a trap by promising to give them certified documents confirming their higher education in Ukrainian universities.

Odintsov and Baranov were detained immediately after crossing the border of Russia and taken to the Mykolayiv region of Ukraine, the military source said.

Meanwhile, a SBU spokesperson told the Interfax news agency that it had detained two former Ukrainian servicemen, who deserted in 2014 from the Ukrainian Armed Forces to the Russian Army, which was deemed by Kiev as a violation of their oaths.

In 2014, Russia absorbed Crimea, formerly part of Ukraine, following a referendum, which was recognized by Moscow but rejected by Kiev and Western powers. Endi