Seen in public for the first time since their capture in eastern Ukraine on Friday, European military observers have been paraded before the press.<br /><br />Branded NATO spies by their pro-Russian captors, the observers were in the area under the auspices of the OSCE when they were seized. It has sent negotiators to Slovyansk to try to secure their release.<br /><br />Looking sombre, the leader of the mission, Colonel Axel Schneider, said its members were in good health, telling reporters “We have not been touched”.<br /><br />He added however: “We have no indication when we will be sent home to our countries and to see our families”.<br /><br />The observers are from Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Poland and the Czech Republic.<br /><br />Also being held by pro-Russian militia in Slovyansk, a further three captives have been presented as state intelligence officers sent from Kyiv.<br /><br />Russian TV images showed the men blindfolded, gagged, handcuffed and tied to chairs.<br /><br />As with the eight-strong European observer team, rebels have proposed a prisoner exchange, demanding that detained separatists be handed over in return for their release.
