“Ukraine is keeping on to desperately fight for the release of all illegally detained Ukrainian citizens, including journalist Asieiev,” –- Iryna Herashchenko
On June 4, 2018, there took place a presentation of the book "In isolation" by Stanislav Asieiev, who had been illegally detained in the occupied Donetsk from June 2017.
The First Deputy Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Iryna Herashchenko thanked the conveners of the event for participating in the struggle for the release of illegally detained Ukrainians who were held both in the occupied territories of Ukraine and in the Russian Federation.
The representative of the TCG’s humanitarian subgroup reminded that for only twenty Ukrainians, including Stanislav Asieiev, places of their detention were confirmed.
She then remarked that representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross had for four years been deprived of access to prisons in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, where Ukrainian citizens, including civilians and servicemen, were illegally detained.
According to the politician, just the lack of proper reaction of the international community and international organizations to the hybrid war methods used against Ukraine "destroys the fundamentals and values of these organizations".
Iryna Herashchenko underscored, there was literally no contact with Stanislav Asieiev and other illegally detained Ukrainians to date -- she thus called on the international community to consolidate their efforts to heighten pressure on the Russian Federation in the run-up to the World Football Championship.
More than sixty Ukrainians, including representatives of the Crimean Tatar people, are illegally detained in Russian prisons as of today.
"We continue to desperately struggle for the release of all Ukrainians and are in a permanent contact with relatives of the illegal inmates," said I. Herashchenko.
The representative of the TCG’s humanitarian subgroup Iryna Herashchenko emphasized that at the regular subgroup meeting on May 30, the Ukrainian representatives had again and again informed the other side of their readiness to release 23 citizens of Russia convicted in Ukraine for crimes against Ukraine’s territorial integrity in order to unblock the release of the Ukrainian political prisoners.
I.Heraschenko urged to consolidate efforts to exert pressure on Russia as the 2018 FIFA World Cup approached, and called Ukrainian citizens not to go to the aggressor country where there was a direct threat to their security and freedom.
The politician added that the release process of the illegally detained Ukrainians had been violated at all levels, including the highest.
Then she finally reminded that on June 1, in his telephone conversation with the United States Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko had raised the issue of the release of the said Ukrainian hostages and political prisoners, and stressed the importance of further exerting a heavier pressure upon Russia in this respect.