Poroshenko: Ukraine applies to International Tribunal to free our sailors

"The trial, which is now taking place in Moscow of Ukrainian sailors, is a proof that Russia continues to show cynical disregard for human rights. For the Russian Federation it is a political game and blackmail, and for us it is a struggle for the fate of our citizens and respect for the requirements of international law. Whatever the aggressor does, his actions are already tie down with measures we have taken – these are diplomatic pressure, the procedures launched by the European Court of Human Rights, and the mechanism for the forced settlement of the dispute under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea,” he wrote.

According to the president, today the Foreign Ministry on his instructions appealed to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea with a request to take compulsory measures to make the Russian side release Ukrainian sailors.

Poroshenko hopes that within a few weeks the Tribunal will oblige Russia to free our sailors and Ukrainian vessels, and Russia actions will be recognized as illegal.

As reported, on November 25, 2018, Russian security forces seized three Ukrainian Navy vessels in the Kerch Strait and captured 24 Ukrainian servicemen. Three of them were wounded in the attack.

Subsequently, the seamen were taken to Moscow, where they are held in the Lefortovo jail.

On April 17, Moscow’s Lefortovo district court will hold hearings on the extension of the arrest of 24 Ukrainian sailors captured in the Kerch Strait.

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