Ukraine’s MFA looking into circumstances behind capture of four Ukrainians by Houthis

Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson eh Nikenko said this in a post on Facebook, Ukrinform reports.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine confirms the capture of four Ukrainians in the territory of Somalia contrled by anti-government forces. Our citizens were members of the helicter crew of the UN Mission in Somalia. Their identities have been established," Nikenko said.

He said that the helicter belonged to a Ukrainian private company, which was fulfilling a transport contract at UN request, and along with the Ukrainians, there were also five foreigners on board.

Nikenko said that the Embassy of Ukraine in Kenya and the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the United Nations in New York had already received urgent instructions from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine to take the necessary measures.

"We are looking into all the details of the accident and the capture, the condition of the Ukrainians. We are establishing contact with the company that owns the helicter to coordinate actions. We are keeping this situation under special contr together with other invved agencies of our state," Nikenko said.

Ukrainian President Vodymyr Zelensky said at a joint press conference with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in Kyiv on January 12 that four Ukrainian sailors were being held captive by the Houthis and that the work was underway to return them home.

Photo: eh Nikenko/Facebook