Two Russian Servicemen Abducted by Ukraine Security Service on False Pretenses

The two Russian servicemen abducted by Ukrainian security operatives in Crimea have been lured under the pretense of providing them with documents confirming obtaining higher education in Ukrainian universities, a Russian Black Sea Fleet source told RIA Novosti on Tuesday.

SEVASTOPOL (Sputnik) —The Russian Defense Ministry urged Kiev to return Odintsov and Baranov, calling the kidnapping a flagrant provocation.

The ministry said that the two Russian soldiers were kidnapped on November 20 and whisked across the border to the Mykolaiv region of Ukraine with an apparent goal to charged them.

"Ukrainian Security Service personnel through intermediaries lured Warrant Officer Maksim Odintsov and contract service Staff Sgt. Aleksander Baranov to allegedly give them certified documents confirming obtaining higher education in Ukrainian universities," the source said.

The Russian ministry warned that the Ukrainian authorities could use psychological and physical pressure to force the Russian servicemen to confess their alleged crimes against Ukraine.