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Yesterday, questions were asked about the whereabouts of British blogger, Graham Phillips.It appears, thanks goodness, he is alive but in the hands of the Ukrainians
RT stringer among 4 people taken hostage in besieged Ukraine’s Donetsk – report
RT,
23
July, 2014
RT
contributor, UK journalist Graham Phillips is among four people taken
hostage by Ukrainian troops, ANNA news agency reports. Phillips has
been missing since he went to Donetsk airport on his own while a
firefight was taking place.
The
other three people in the group are reportedly ANNA news agency’s
cameraman, an employee of the press service of the self-proclaimed
Donetsk People’s Republic, and possibly an acquaintance of
Phillips, who accompanied the journalist to the airport.
“Our
cameraman, Vadim, was working in the epicenter of the fighting, RT’s
stringer was next to him,”
ANNA news agency reported.
The
agency cites anonymous sources, saying the group of four was taken
hostage by Ukrainian troops.
The
Russian Foreign Ministry has demanded the immediate release of
journalists working for RT and the ANNA news agency.
Britain’s
Foreign Office has informed RT in a letter that it is looking into
what happened to Graham Phillips.
“We
are aware of reports that a British National is missing in the
Donetsk area of Ukraine,”
the letter reads. “We
are looking into these. We stand ready to provide consular
assistance.”
The
last time Phillips got in touch with Moscow was on the evening of
Tuesday, July 22.
The
stringer informed Moscow he was planning to go to Donetsk airport,
currently the most active warzone in the regional center besieged by
Kiev’s troops and National Guard.
“We
urged him not to go, because of the obvious risks, but based on the
messages that appeared in social media a bit later, he decided to go
there anyway, alongside another group of journalists,” RT’s
statement maintains
At
around 2am in the morning, Phillips sent RT a text message
saying “All is
fine,” and
that was the last communication with him.
Journalist
Bryan MacDonald confirmed on Twitter that Phillips is alive, but did
not reveal any more information.
8:14 AM - 24 Jul 2014 Wexford, Ireland
A
free-lance journalist for a German magazine, who would not give his
name for security reasons, says he accompanied Phillips to the
airport, but at a certain point decided not to continue with the
group, as he believed it was dangerous.
“They
risked going further,”
the journalist told RT by phone. “They
crossed the street in front of the airport three or four times. It
was impossible not to spot them. We did not hear gunshots. They most
probably later got caught up in an ambush.”
The
journalist says he later called Phillips on the phone. Vadim from the
ANNA news agency responded.
“First
question was: “Where’s Graham?” Vadim replied: “They have
Graham. Ukrainian troops are all around. Get me out of here.”
Although
the channel did not assign Graham to go to the Donetsk airport, RT
editorial staff are doing everything within their powers, such as
contacting representatives of the Donetsk People's Republic and Kiev
authorities, to learn about his present whereabouts.
So
far all efforts have been in vain.
Popular YouTuber and RT stringer, Graham Phillips was detained once at a check point in Mariupol andheld captive by Kiev military for over 36 hours in May.
Phillips
has been reporting about the developments in Ukraine for several
months now. According to research from Brandwatch social networks
monitor, he has become the most popular author in Twitter reporting
on the situation in Ukraine.
The
Ukrainian Security and Defense Council says it doesn' have any
information on Phillips’ whereabouts.
‘We
have no information concerning this journalist,”
the Council’s spokesman Andrey Lysenko said, as cited by RIA
Novosti. He added that Ukrainian troops never detain journalists.
The
claim is questionable, as Russian journalists have actually been
captured by Kiev’s forces throughout the conflict in eastern
Ukraine.
In
June, journalists from Russia's Zvezda TV channel spent two days
in captivity,
after being detained by the Ukrainian National Guard.
In
May, two LifeNews journalists were taken hostage by
the National Guard, prompting an online #SaveOurGuys campaign.
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