Russia's security service, FSB, pressed charges of illegal border crossing against two Ukrainian border guards who were seized on a neutral strip in Sumy Region, TASS reported Thursday, 12 October.
"They face charges under part 3 of Article 322 of the RF Criminal Code (illegal crossing of the Russian border)," the agency quoted an official FSB report.
Two servicemen of the State Border Service went missing on the border with Russia in the Sumy region on 3 October. Later, it became known that they were detained by Russian security forces and arrested by a court in Russia's Bryansk region.
On 10 October, the Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council, Oleksandr Turchynov, said that the border guards were detained on a neutral strip, ie on the territory of Ukraine.
In turn, the head of the State Border Service Petro Tsyhykal said that the Ukrainians were kidnapped during a consultative meeting with representatives by Russian border guards. He sated the belief that the capture of Ukrainian border guards was a response to the detention of two Russian border guards in Kherson Region.