Russia may put released Ukrainian sailors on wanted list — lawyer

"There is a very serious danger that the Russian authorities may put the sailors on the wanted list if they do not appear at the request of an investigator or in court," Polozov said in a commentary to Crimea. Realities portal.

The sailors remain in the status of defendants in Russia and their case is now at the stage of familiarization with materials of case, the lawyer reminded.

“After the sailors had been released, it was decided to dissolve the team of lawyers and I continue to deal with this case. Now it is at the stage of familiarization with materials of a criminal case. I get acquainted with the written materials, we plan to get acquainted with the material evidence in November. The case is not terminated, respectively, we will work towards an ultimate result to avoid any negative consequences of seizure for sailors in the future and to close the case on the whole,” the lawyer explained.

As reported, on November 25, 2018, Russian border guards fired on and seized three Ukrainian Navy ships, the Berdyansk, the Nikopol, and the Yani Kapu, heading from Odesa to Mariupol, near the Kerch Strait. In addition, their crewmembers, 24 Ukrainian sailors, were captured. Three of them were wounded. A Russian-controlled court in the occupied Crimea arrested all the detained Ukrainian sailors on charges of alleged illegal border crossing.

On September 7, the prisoner swap in 35-for-35 format took place between Ukraine and Russia. In particular, 24 POWs were released.

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