President Vladimir Putin called Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov to express gratitude for his efforts in securing the release of two Russian journalists who had been in detention since mid-May by Ukrainian troops in Donetsk, Izvestia reported Sunday.
"The president was informed of the journalists' release. Certainly, everyone, the president included, has taken a no-compromise position on the unacceptable actions of Ukrainian authorities in connection with the Russian journalists, specifically with reference to their detention," Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov said, Izvestia reported.
LifeNews journalists Oleg Sidyakin and Marat Saychenko were detained by Ukrainian troops on May 18 in the Donetsk region of Kramatorsk. They were later transported to Kiev, where they were questioned and charged with promoting terrorism.
Early Sunday morning, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov announced that Sidyakin and Saychenko had been released. The two newly liberated journalists made a detour to Grozny before traveling on to Moscow.
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