Freed OSCE observers tell of ordeal during capture in Ukraine
Axel Schneider says his team were unable to do nothing as the sound of gunfire came closer and closer Axel Schneider, the head of the OSCE team, arrives in Berlin. Photograph: Action Press/ Rex Features The head of an OSCE team released by pro-Russia rebels in east Ukraine on Saturday has described how he and his colleagues faced a "constantly growing threat" as the situation deteriorated around them. "The proverbial fire of handguns and artillery came closer and closer," said Colonel Axel Schneider at a press conference in Berlin on Saturday night. "But we were condemned to inaction. Anyone who hasn't gone through something like this can't imagine what it was like." Schneider said his team had been allowed constant contact with the OSCE and their families throughout their capture. Krzysztof Kobielski, a Polish major who formed part of the group, told Polish TV the team had faced "real danger" in th...