Ashraf AboArafe
On February 15, at the first stage of implementing the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, reached between Hamas and Israel in January 2025, Russian citizen Alexander Trufanov, who was held hostage in Gaza along with other hostages, was released. This became possible as a result of the consistent and targeted actions of Russian diplomacy, including intensive contacts with the political leadership of Hamas.
We thank the Palestinian side, as well as our Qatari and Egyptian partners, for their assistance in ensuring a successful outcome of this matter. We would like to note that the task of rescuing our citizens from captivity was and remains our priority. Three Russian citizens were also released thanks to the efforts of Russian diplomats in November 2023 during the so-called humanitarian truce: Ron Krivoy, Elena Trufanova and Irina Tati. It is worth noting that they were released exceptionally without any conditions or demands for similar steps from the Israeli side.
We intend to continue active efforts aimed at the speedy return of the other remaining citizen of Gaza, a native of Donbass, Maxim Kharkin, as well as to ensure that the Hamas leadership maintains a vigilant position regarding other humanitarian requests from the Russian side.
