Ukrainian citizen Anhar Kochneva, who was held hostage by Syrian rebels, escaped from captivity on Monday and is already in Damascus, her cousin, Dmytro Astafurov, has told Interfax-Ukraine.

"She escaped this morning. We talked with her by phone for a couple of minutes. She said that people took her to Damascus," the relative said.

He added that Kochneva had already contacted the Ukrainian Embassy in Syria regarding further actions. Astafurov said that her condition is satisfactory.