MOSCOW, August 10 (RIA Novosti) – A #FreeAndrew campaign initiated by the International Information News Agency Rossiya Segodnya to support its photographer Andrei Stenin, who went missing in the combat zone in Ukraine’s east, started in Moscow Sunday.
Volunteers are distributing photos taken by Stenin with a call to support demands for his release in social networks. The campaign is taking place near RIA Novosti information agency headquarters next to metro station Park Kultury, in Pushkin Square and at the entrance to Gorky Park. Some 5,000 photos are expected to be handed out.
“People’s support is tremendous. Some people even come back, take two more leaflets and hand them out to their friends in the park,” one of the participants told RIA Novosti. She said both young people and the elderly took interest in the event, and many passers-by even offered financial support.
“Everyone is concerned with how they can help and support. We explain that they can make a hashtag using photos made by Andrei in Ukraine or simply tell their friends and relatives about the case,” the campaign participant added.
The contact with Stenin, who was working in Donetsk, Slaviansk and other eastern Ukrainian cities, was lost on August 5. An informed source told RIA Novosti on Friday that Stenin was being held by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) in the Zaporizhia Region in southern Ukraine. The local SBU office, however, claimed it had detained no Russian media employees.
Russia is making all possible efforts in coordination with corresponding agencies to secure Stenin’s return, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Saturday.
Rossiya Segodnya Director-General Dmitry Kiselev called on Friday for the release of the agency’s photographer and emphasized the humanitarian nature of Stenin’s work.
