Abducted US journalist freed in east Ukraine A US journalist abducted and held by pro-Kremlin rebels in east Ukraine this week told AFP he was freed Thursday. Simon Ostrovsky, who works for the online outlet VICE News, said by telephone that he was fine, although he had been beaten after being grabbed late Monday in the flashpoint town of Slavyansk and was initially kept tied up and blindfolded. A few hours earlier, the self-styled rebel mayor of Slavyansk Vyacheslav Ponomaryov told a news conference that the reporter would "be freed as soon as possible". Images and soundbites.