Separatists end blockade of hotel housing conflict monitors in eastern Ukraine

FILE PHOTO: Protesters set up tents in front of the Park Inn hotel housing OSCE monitor mission during a rally to demand release of a pro-Russian officer, captured by the Ukrainian military this week, in the rebel-controlled city of Donetsk, Ukraine October 16, 2021. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko/File Photo

HORLIVKA, Ukraine/KYIV (Reuters) -Russian-backed separatists on Monday ended their blockade of a hotel housing international conflict monitors in eastern Ukraine, an incident sparked by the capture of an officer by Ukrainian armed forces last week.

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said on Sunday its monitors were unable to leave their patrol base in a hotel in the separatist-controlled town of Horlivka while the separatists demanded the officer's release.