Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi said on Wednesday that one of four sailors freed in Nigeria is a Ukrainian citizen.

The minister said in a statement posted on his page on Twitter that the Italian sailors would soon return home. The time of the Ukrainian sailor's return home is unknown.

At least four sailors were taken hostage on December 23 as a result of an attack by pirates on an Italian ship, the Asso Ventuno, off the coast of Nigeria.

Three of the four hostages are Italian citizens. The Italian media later reported that the fourth sailor could be a Ukrainian citizen.

The attack on the ship was made 74 kilometers off the coast of Nigeria's Bayelsa State. After taking the sailors hostage the pirates escaped, while the remaining crewmembers on board managed to tow the ship to port.

The vessel is managed by Augusta Offshore SpA, based in Naples (Italy).