A special air mission onboard with 14 Ukrainian crew members of Ruta tanker who came back home after over three years of imprisonment in Libya has landed in Kyiv-based Boryspil airport, a press service of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky reported.
“This is our task to bring Ukrainian citizens back. I am very glad that almost in three and a half 14 crew members of Ruta tanker, who were imprisoned in Libya, came back home. I am glad for them, for their relatives,” a president’s press service quotes him as saying on Friday.
Head of the state expressed gratitude to Foreign Ministry of Ukraine, Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), and also all emphatic people, who were helpful.
In April 2017, Ukrainian sailors were detained in Libya on charges of involvement in smuggling of petroleum products. Due to the difficult domestic political situation and the security situation in this country, the consideration of the case of Ukrainians by the Libyan courts continued for a long period.
“Thanks to the coordinated actions of the relevant authorities of Ukraine, it was possible to achieve a result in negotiations with the Libyan side and return our citizens to their homeland,” the president’s press service noted.
