Russian Foreign Ministry discussed with Hamas the release of Trufanov and Harkin from captivity

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov in a telephone conversation with Hamas Deputy Politburo Chairman Musa Abu Marzouk noted the interest in the release of Russian citizen Trufanov and Donbass native Harkin, who are being held in Gaza. This is reported on January 24 on the website of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

"From the Russian side was reaffirmed interest in the priority release of the Russian citizen A. Trufanov and native of Donbass M. Harkin held in the Gaza Strip," - stated in a statement of the agency.

It is specified that during the conversation they discussed the need to provide humanitarian assistance to the population of the conflict zone.

The agreement on a ceasefire in Gaza became known on January 15. On the same day, the Russian President's representative for the Middle East and Africa, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov held telephone talks with the leadership of the Palestinian movement and noted the priority of the release of Russian citizens held captive. The ceasefire regime in the Gaza Strip began in the morning of January 19.

On November 15, 2024, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova recalled that more than 100 people now remain in captivity of the Palestinian movement and among them are Russians Alexander Trufanov and Maxim Kharkin. She emphasized that the capture and long detention of people who are not guilty of anything cannot be justified in any way.

The situation in the Middle East escalated on the morning of October 7, 2023, when Hamas subjected the territory of Israel to a massive rocket attack from the Gaza Strip. On the same day, Israel began retaliatory strikes.