INTERNATIONAL

Ukraine's Internal Affairs Ministry announced that a Russian special services operation was responsible for taking opposition activist Leonid Razvozzhayev and transporting him from Kiev to Moscow, Gazeta.ru reported, citing the Ukrainian UNN information portal.

"If this was a criminal case and the man kidnapped by criminals, then it would not matter whether he was a Ukrainian or Russian citizen - the matter would have reached the police, and they would have begun pre-investigation checks," UNN quoted Ukrainian Interior Ministry spokesman Vladimir Polishchuk as saying, Gazeta.ru reported. "Actually, a woman, a lawyer born in 1983, has submitted a claim of ​​kidnapping. But it turned out that the man was alive and well and accompanied by the Russian special services the whole time. This means that it is not criminals who kidnapped him, not terrorists, but an operation of foreign security forces in Ukraine.
"A preliminary examination has been scheduled from Oct. 19- 29, but I can see in advance that there simply cannot be case for kidnapping. If it was criminals who kidnapped him, it would 100 percent be a criminal case, but in this case when it is done by foreign law enforcement agencies, I do not think that the security services have to share their plans."