The U.S. State Department expressed doubts about the fact that the detainees of Russian TV channel LifeNews were actually journalists.
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said: "The Ukrainian security services, according to reports, detained a number of individuals who were in possession of fake journalist credentials issued by the nonexistent Donetsk People's Republic. Reportedly, they were carrying manned portable anti-aircraft missiles in the trunks of their cars at the time of their detention. And certainly that raised some questions about these individuals and whether they were actually journalists," she stated.
She added that the U.S. could not yet confirm the detention of another journalist in Ukraine (British journalist Graham Phillips, who works for Russia Today TV channel). Psaki promised to investigate relevant media reports.
According to her, the State Department condemns illegal detention of media representatives on duty, if it really goes about journalists.