Simon Ostrovsky, an American journalist who was detained by pro-Russian gunmen in eastern Ukraine, was released on Thursday. He had been held since Tuesday.

Ostrovsky was working for Vice Magazine and had been covering the crisis in Ukraine for several weeks. The Associated Press reported that he went missing on Tuesday in Slovyansk. Stella Khorosheva, a spokeswoman for insurgents there, told the AP that he was in good condition, but considered him a spy. She did deny claims that he was being held as a hostage.

According to Politico, journalist for the BBC and CBC shared pictures of Ostrovsky after his release on Thursday on Twitter. Jean-Francois Belanger of CBC said that the journalist told him he “was beaten, blindfolded and hands tied at first, then treated well.”

image via Twitter from Jean-Francois Belanger

Vice later issued a statement, confirming that the fluent Russian speaker was released. Ostrovsky has dual Israeli and American citizenship, so both the U.S. State Department and Israeli Foreign Ministry were working for his release.

“VICE News is delighted to confirm that our colleague and friend Simon Ostrovsky has been safely released and is in good health,” Vice’s statement read. “We would like to thank everyone for their support during this difficult time. Out of respect for Simon and his family's privacy, we have no further statement at this time.”