Ukrainian sailors captured by Russia are prisoners of war – UN

13.03.2019 18:14

Ukrinform

Crew members of the Ukrainian naval vessels captured and still held by Russians in Moscow could be considered as prisoners of war and protected under the Geneva Convention.

This is stated in the report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the human rights situation in Ukraine for the period from November 16, 2018 to February 15, 2019.

“OHCHR notes that Ukrainian crew members apprehended by Russian authorities in the Kerch Strait on 25 November 2018 could be considered as prisoners of war and protected under the Third Geneva Convention,” the report says.

The report also notes that the Russian Federation as the occupying power in Crimea has still not granted OHCHR access to the peninsula in line with UN General Assembly resolution on the territorial integrity of Ukraine 68/262 and resolutions 71/205, 72/190 and 73/263.

"The Russian Federation continues to apply its laws, in violation of international humanitarian law applicable to an occupying power, resulting in grave human rights violations, disproportionately affecting Crimean Tatars," the document reads.