UN Special Envoy Robert Serry agreed with the demand of the armed men who detained him in Simferopol to wind down the mission in Crimea and go to the airport. this on Twitter . announced The head of the European bureau of ITV News, James Mates,

Serry, who arrived in Crimea on Wednesday, March 5, was detained by armed men without identification marks near the headquarters of the Ukrainian Navy. They blocked the envoy's car, after which he and a group of journalists had to take refuge in a coffee shop.

According to Mates, people gathered near the coffee shop began chanting “Russia! Russia!" and “Putin! Putin!” when Serry went outside to get into an approaching car. Then, under police escort, the UN special envoy headed to the airport.

Mates previously tweeted that some of the people surrounding the coffee shop where Serry was holed up had St. George ribbons tied to their clothes. The Ukrainian side states that there are a large number of Russian military personnel on the territory of Crimea without any identification marks. The Russian Ministry of Defense categorically denies this version, stating that these armed men, many of whom wear St. George ribbons, are members of the “Crimean self-defense brigades.”

Serry's visit to Crimea was the first trip of a UN representative to the autonomous republic since a virtual change of power took place in Ukraine at the end of February - the Verkhovna Rada came under the control of the opposition, and President Viktor Yanukovych was removed from power. The Crimean authorities refused to recognize the new leadership of Ukraine. Deputies of the parliament of the autonomous republic dismissed its government, appointing the leader of Russian Unity, Sergei Aksenov, as the new prime minister.

UN special envoy had to curtail mission in Crimea