Russia: Ukrainian Hostage Freed In Afghanistan

Russia says a Ukrainian who was being held prisoner by Afghan militants has been freed.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on August 29 that Dmytro Bilyi had been freed "as a result of active efforts of the Russian authorities in close cooperation with the Afghan side."

She didn’t give further details.

But she said Russia was "ready at any time" to hand Bilyi over to Ukrainian representatives in Afghanistan.

Earlier this month, Kyiv confirmed that Bilyi was being held hostage after he posted a video appeal on the Internet.

According to Ukrainian media, he had worked in Afghanistan for a construction company for 10 years.

With reporting by Reuters