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

Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oleh Nikolenko 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 controlled by anti-government forces. Our citizens were members of the helicopter crew of the UN Mission in Somalia. Their identities have been established," Nikolenko said.

He said that the helicopter 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.

Nikolenko 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 helicopter to coordinate actions. We are keeping this situation under special control together with other involved agencies of our state," Nikolenko said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr 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: Oleh Nikolenko/Facebook