A serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), Albert Zubrilin, who was detained in Slovakia at Russia's request, has Russian citizenship, so consular access by Ukrainian diplomats to him is difficult, the case is under special control, Oleh Nikolenko, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, told Interfax-Ukraine.

"The Embassy of Ukraine in Bratislava is dealing with the case of Albert Zubrilin, a soldier of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, who was detained in Slovakia on October 14 at the request of the Russian Federation. Given that Albert Zubrilin is a Russian citizen, consular access to him directly by Ukrainian diplomats is difficult. At the same time, our diplomats provide assistance through his wife, a citizen of Ukraine, with whom they maintain regular contact," Nikolenko said.

He noted that the last time they spoke was on December 6.

"Ukrainian consuls offered to support the wife in her visit to Slovakia and in organizing a meeting with her husband. The Embassy is now interacting with the Slovak law enforcement agencies in the context of preparing for the consideration of the Russian request in court. Albert Zubrilin is provided with a lawyer," he said.

The Foreign Ministry also added that the conditions of detention of the military are acceptable.

"We keep the case of the defender of Ukraine under special control," the Foreign Ministry said.

Earlier, journalist Yuriy Butusov said that in Slovakia, at the request of the Russian Federation, soldier of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Albert Zubrilin was detained. He also said that the situation "shows the inaction of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defense to protect our people."

"Ksenia Zubrilina, a citizen of Ukraine, contacted me and said that they have been married since 2013, since then Albert has been living permanently in Ukraine, they have two children, since 2015 Zubrilin has a permit for permanent residence in Ukraine and thus has all the grounds for obtaining citizenship," he wrote on Facebook.