Poroshenko: Release of Ukrainian hostages to be a key issue at UN

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is planning to raise the issue of the release of Ukrainian hostages and political prisoners during his visit to the United States for the session of the UN General Assembly.

"The issue of the release of Ukrainian hostages and political prisoners will be one of the key issues during my visit to the United States for the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly," he wrote on his Facebook page on Sunday, September 17.

He recalled that "exactly one year ago we freed our Hero Volodymyr Zhemchuhov."

As Ukrinform reported, Poroshenko will pay a working visit to the United States on September 18-21 to participate in the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly. There, he will speak at the general debate of the General Assembly, take part in the UN Security Council summit on peacekeeping issues, high-level events on UN reform, and the fight against the use of the Internet for terrorist purposes.

Zhemchuhov conducted 30 special operations in the occupied territories in Donbas in 2014-2015. On September 29, 2015, he sustained serious injuries in a tripwire trap explosion. He lost his hands and eyesight. The militants seized him in an unconscious state. Zhemchuhov was held for a long time in the Luhansk detention center and interrogated.

On September 17, 2016, with the direct participation of the president Zhemchuhov was released from the captivity of the militants.

op