ITV News' James Mates was with the United Nations special envoy Robert Serry as he agreed to end his mission to Crimea after he refused to go with a group of men who blocked his car and then local militia refused to let him leave a coffee shop.
United Nations special envoy John Serry has exclusively told ITV News that his ordeal is an example of how serious the situation has become in Ukraine's Crimea region.
Mr Serry was forced to take refuge in a coffee shop with journalists from ITV News after being confronted by armed men.
"I think this incident is just an example of how serious the situation has become and my hope is that everybody will realise that this situation is very urgent now and we must find a way to de-escalate the situation here," Mr Serry said inside the business lounge at Simeferopol airport.
"That is the lesson of what happened to me."
The UN envoy's team believed the visible presence of our camera crew was probably the best protection they could have had from the militia.
ITV News were the only TV journalists with a UN envoy as he was forced to seek refuge in a Crimea cafe after being confronted by armed men.