Russia uses captive Ukrainian sailors in its political game – U.S. Embassy

15.01.2019 18:20

Ukrinform

The United States demands that Russia immediately release Ukrainian sailors captured in the Kerch Strait and unjustly detained for over 50 days, the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine has reported.

"Russia must release Ukraine’s sailors immediately, not use them as political pawns," the embassy wrote on Twitter.

For more than 50 days, Russia has illegally detained Ukrainian sailors who were exercising Ukraine’s freedom of navigation in its territorial waters. "We are deeply concerned about their health and rights," the embassy noted.

On November 25, 2018, Russian border ships fired on and seized in the Kerch Strait three Ukrainian vessels that were moving from the port of Odesa to the port of Mariupol. A total of 24 Ukrainian sailors were captured.

Russian-controlled "courts" in occupied Crimea arrested all sailors for two months, and they were taken to Moscow.

At present, 21 Ukrainian servicemen are in Moscow's Lefortovo remand prison, and three more wounded sailors stay in the Matrosskaya Tishina remand prison.

All Ukrainian sailors captured by Russia told investigators that they are prisoners of war.