Contact with four more observers in eastern Ukraine lost: OSCE

Ukraine Crisis

VIENNA - The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on Friday said it lost contact with four more of its observers in eastern Ukraine.

In a statement, the institution said it lost contact with four members of its Luhansk-based Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) team, as well as one Ukrainian language assistant traveling in two vehicles.

"The team was stopped in the town of Severodonetsk (100km north of Luhansk) by armed men," OSCE noted.

Four other observers from the SMM, last heard from on the evening of May 26 on their way to Donetsk, are still missing, according to OSCE.

However, Interfax news agency quoted the self-styled leader of the "People's Front" in Lugansk region Alexei Chmilenko as saying on Friday that four OSCE observers that were "detained a few days ago and taken to Lugansk for document checks" have been released after "it was confirmed that they are indeed representatives of the international organization, not involved in provocation."