Moscow demands release of detained Russian journalists

The Russian Foreign Ministry Saturday demanded that Kiev take urgent measures and release the two Russian journalists, who were detained near Slovyansk in eastern Ukraine.

Andrei Sushenkov and Anton Malyshev from the Russian TV channel Zvezda (the Star) were detained by the Ukranian authorities Friday, Xinhua reported.

"We are calling on the Ukrainian authorities to stop the illegal actions against Russian and foreign groups and provide safe conditions for their professional activities in compliance with international norms and standards," a statement released by the ministry said Saturday.

Russia's Ambassador to Ukraine Mikhail Zurabov said the embassy will do its best and that he will send a note to Ukraine's foreign ministry soon on the issue.

The Russian Foreign Ministry's human rights envoy Konstantin Dolgov confirmed that the Russian embassy in Ukraine had joined the efforts to release the journalists and sent a letter to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

The TV channel Zvezda said earlier at its website that its two journalists entered Ukraine officially Wednesday to report the presidential inauguration of Petro Poroshenko Saturday, but lost contact after they were stopped at a checkpoint in the Donetsk region on their way to Slavyansk.

The whereabouts of the two was yet to be confirmed.