The militants are now holding over 150 citizens of Ukraine, Iryna Heraschenko, Ukrainian presidential envoy on issues relating to peaceful settlement of the situation in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, said, citing SBU data.

"According to the most recent information provided by the SBU, 156 Ukrainians are now held hostage, of which some 100 are servicemen and members of battalions and the rest are civilians. In the course of the past year, 2,905 Ukrainians, of which half are servicemen and law enforcement officers and the other half are civilians, were released thanks to cooperation between the SBU, the Minsk Group and volunteers," she said on Facebook on Tuesday evening.

She recalled that two Ukrainian servicemen, Serhiy Furayev and Artem Komisarchuk, had been released on Tuesday. "They are in the territory of Ukraine at this time," she said.

"The issue of prisoner release is under the president's personal control and it's his main demand to our group. This issue is also raised by Leonid Kuchma in meetings of the Trilateral Contact Group […] Today's release operation is a result of the many days of work done by the SBU, the Minsk group and all people involved […] We are working very hard and we have relevant orders and directives from the president. I hope for good news in the nearest future," Heraschenko said.