Engle took to Twitter after his release where he said that he is safe and that he was to be “deported” back to Ukraine.
RELATED: NBC News’ Richard Engel Released Safely After Kidnapping And Five Day Captivity In Syria
Crimea is scheduled to hold a referendum on whether to join the Russian Federation on Sunday. The peninsula’s parliament voted last week to join the Russian Federation after Russian forces invaded and occupied that Ukrainian territory.
In December, 2012, Engel was captured and detained by anti-government forces in Syria while reporting on the ongoing civil war in that country. Following a firefight in which two of Engel’s captors were killed, Engel was safely released after spending several days in captivity.
[h/t Interpreter Mag]
[Photo via NBC News]
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