Ukrainian Army Officer Abducted in Bakhchisaray

The commander of a Ukrainian army motorised battalion, Colonel Vladimir Sadovnik, was abducted in Bakhchisaray on Sunday, Ukrainska Pravda was told by the unit’s chief of staff, Lieutenant-Colonel Sergei Gunder.

Lt-Col Gunder said the incident occurred on at about 17:00 on March 9. “It happened when Gunder was returning from lunch in Bakhchisaray,” he said, adding that unidentified pro-Russian individuals forced that colonel into a car and drove away.

"Eyewitness saw him at the Russian Unity offices, but when we arrived there wer were told no one had seen him there,” Lt-Col Gunder said.

“The situation as of Monday morning is that he contacted his wife between 7 and 8 am. He said he was fine, but was being held in an unknown location. No demands had been put to him,” Lt-Col Gunder said.

Gunder said the military was doing its best to trace Col Sadovnik.

As has been reported already, numerous abductions began on Sunday. In the morning, Euromaidan activist Andrei Schekun was detained at Simferopol railway and then abducted by Russian Unity members. News later emerged that a second activist, Anatoly Kovalsky, was abducted with Schekun. Activist Olena Maximenko was abducted while entering Crimea.

A number of people travelling in another vehicle also disappeared – a freelance photographer called Oles [Kromplyas] and another journalist. Evgen Rakhno also disappeared while driving the group of journalists in his Jeep Wrangler (number plate AE 9115 EV. Rakhno’s wife Yekaterina Abiyeva said he was detained at a checkpoint in Perekop. 

This article republished from Ukrainska Pravda with kind permission.

Original article here in Ukrainian.