Private U.S. group says it has secured release of Russian-held American in Ukraine
By Steve Gorman
(Reuters) – A U.S. citizen in Ukraine who had been accused of espionage and held by Russian forces was being evacuated to Poland with two relations after his launch was secured by a personal volunteer group from Florida, the group stated on Tuesday.
Kirillo Alexandrov, 27, alongside together with his Ukrainian spouse and her mom, is the newest of over 600 individuals freed in dozens of such missions since February, in response to Challenge Dynamo, a Tampa-based group first fashioned to rescue Individuals and others from Afghanistan final yr.
Alexandrov, a local of Michigan who had moved to Ukraine, was arrested together with his partner and mother-in-law in late March outdoors the southern Ukrainian metropolis of Kherson as they have been making an attempt to flee the area following its occupation by Russian troops, Challenge Dynamo stated.
In accordance with Dynamo, Russian forces held Alexandrov in Ukraine on practically a dozen legal expenses associated to allegations that he was spying for the U.S. authorities, which Dynamo says have been fabricated. He was interrogated and was destined for switch to Moscow, “the place he would presumably be leveraged for propaganda after which imprisoned,” the Florida-based group stated in a press release.
Reuters was unable to speak instantly confirm particulars of the group’s account. There was no instant reply from the Russian Embassy in Washington to a Reuters request for remark. A State Division spokesperson stated the company was “conscious of those studies” however declined additional remark, citing “privateness concerns.”
Challenge Dynamo secured protected passage of all three after greater than a month of negotiations, Dynamo spokesperson James Decide stated.
He stated Alexandrov’s Russian captors usually supplied “proof-of-life” pictures of him through the course of the talks.
Following his launch, Alexandrov and his household have been despatched on a ten to 15-hour street journey west out of Ukraine, en path to a border crossing at Medyka, Poland, the place they have been as a result of arrive round 2 a.m. native time on Wednesday, Dynamo stated.
He was anticipated to be met there by his mom, who first contacted Challenge Dynamo about her son and has flown into the area from Detroit together with her husband.
Decide stated the U.S. State Division supplied Alexandrov with an emergency-expedited passport in time for his launch.
Challenge Dynamo, established by a gaggle of U.S. navy veterans, made headlines in September 2021 when it organized for the chartered evacuation of greater than 100 Individuals flown from Afghanistan to america through the United Arab Emirates.
Bryan Stern, a Challenge Dynamo founder who spearheaded that effort, was additionally current in Ukraine main the operation to free Alexandrov, the group stated.
The group launched a video clip it says reveals the handover of Alexandrov from Russian forces to Challenge Dynamo group members as Alexandrov and his household emerge from a automobile parked in an off-road wooded space. A nonetheless photograph reveals Stern and Alexandrov posed collectively smiling.
The State Division instructed a information briefing in February that some 6,600 Individuals have been believed to be residing in Ukraine as of October 2021, however the exact quantity on the time of the Russian invasion was unknown.
(Reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles, Enhancing by Rosalba O’Brien)
