148 Ukrainians held by separatists, Russia

"There is the authorized Minsk subgroup, which is closely working on the issue of their release. The subgroup members work with the lists every day. As of today, 148 hostages, according to our information, are kept not only in Donetsk and Luhansk regions but in Russian territory as well," he said. "Unfortunately, we see facts confirming that the so-called ‘LPR’ and ‘DPR’ are neglecting our agreements, including those reached in Minsk. We see that those, who are in Donetsk and Luhansk, do not take independent decisions, and the Kremlin is using our men kept there as political hostages," the official said.