Pro-Russia militants detain 3 journalists in Ukraine

Russian armed troops block Ukrainian fleet headquarters in Sevastopol, Crimea, Ukraine (March 6, 2014). AlexandCo Studio / Shutterstock

SLOVYANSK, Ukraine — Three foreign journalists were temporarily detained by pro-Russia insurgents in city in eastern Ukraine.

One Belarusian and two Italian journalists were stopped Monday by gunmen as they reported in the city of Slovyansk, which has been occupied by pro-Russia forces for more than a week.

Slovyansk is one of many cities in Ukraine’s Russian-speaking eastern region where insurgents are demanding greater ties with Russia.

Dmitry Galko told The Associated Press that he and two Italian colleagues were taken in then freed some time later after a document check.

Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the European Union’s security arm, had condemned the events and called for the journalists’ immediate release.