The two Ukrainian border guards detained on the territory of the Republic of Moldova were handed over to the Ukrainian authorities. They had weapons on them

The two Ukrainian border guards detained on October 15 on the territory of the Republic of Moldova, during an operation to detain a Ukrainian citizen on the Dniester, were handed over to the Ukrainian authorities under the bilateral readmission agreement between the two states. The information was confirmed for Teleradio-Moldova by sources within the Border Police, who specified that the two had weapons on them.

Sources Moldova 1 from the Border Police, confirmed that the weapons were found on the two Ukrainians and that all the seized goods, including the boat, were seized as part of the criminal investigation. The source also stated that the Prosecutor's Office decided that there was no need to apply preventive measures and that, based on the bilateral readmission agreement, the two were handed over to the Ukrainian authorities, to be summoned later for questioning.

At the same time, information appearing in the public space that the two Ukrainians were from a recruitment center was rejected; according to official confirmations, they are a border patrol, and as a rule, they are equipped with weapons.

Teleradio-Moldova also sent a request to the Prosecutor General's Office regarding the criminal case opened against the two Ukrainian citizens, but, to date, has not received a response.

The incident took place on October 15, near the village of Holoșnița, Soroca district. A 49-year-old man from Kiev, Alexei Koval, a clinical psychologist, tried to swim across the Dniester to reach his family who had left Ukraine. According to his account and witnesses, while crossing the river he was pursued by a boat with two Ukrainian border guards, who allegedly tried to detain and hit him. Several locals on the Moldovan bank intervened and pulled him out of the water. Later, the border guards were taken over by a patrol and taken to the Cosăuți Border Police Sector, and the prosecutor's office initiated criminal proceedings for illegal crossing of the state border, under Article 362 of the Criminal Code.

Alexei Koval arrived at the Soroca district hospital with a concussion, abrasions and headaches. Traumatologist Dorin Jamba confirmed the diagnosis and stated that the patient's condition is stable.

Ukrainian Alexei Koval claims that the men on the boat raised their hands to hit him and that the boat was pointed at him to cut him with the propeller.

On the other hand, the spokesman for the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, Andrei Demcenco, claims that the boat reached the Moldovan shore due to currents, low water levels and an engine failure.