Russia threatens Ukraine with "tough retaliation" over Crimea vessel crew

Russia requires the Ukrainian side to neglect national legislation and allow the crew of the Crimean-registered Nord fishing vessel seized by Ukrainian border guards in the Sea of Azov on March 25 to leave for the annexed Crimea.

"On April 19, representatives of the Ukrainian border service at Kyiv Zhuliany Airport once again denied exit to sailors, Russian citizens who carried Russian-issued passports, for a flight to Minsk. Their documents have been withdrawn under a trumped pretext, and protocols on administrative violation were drawn up. Although earlier on the same day and from the same airport, two members of the Nord fishing vessel flew to Russia via Minsk on Russian-issued passports," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Read alsoUkraine, Russia face off over fishing boatAccording to the Russian side, Kyiv resorted to "forced coercion to Ukrainian citizenship" and restricted freedom of movement, which "grossly violates fundamental human rights and contradicts civilized norms of international relations."

"We demand halt to bullying of Russian citizens and that they are given an opportunity to finally return home, to their families. Our patience is not limitless. We reserve the right to tough retaliation," the ministry said.

As UNIAN reported earlier, the Russian-flagged and Crimea-registered fishing vessel Nord operated by a crew of 10 was seized by the Ukrainian Border Guard Service in the Sea of Azov on March 25 on charges of infringements on the Ukrainian border crossing rules in relation to the occupied territory. The vessel and crew were brought to the Ukrainian port of Berdyansk.

Read alsoTwo sailors of Crimean ship seized in Ukraine flee to Belarus with Russian-issued passportsThe Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine announced that the captain of the Nord, Volodymyr Horbenko, who turned to be a citizen of Ukraine, was indicted on March 31 under Part 2 of Article 332-1 (violation of entry/exit rules into/from temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

On April 8, the Ukrainian Border Guard Service reported an attempt to smuggle the Nord's crew out of Ukraine in Russian diplomatic cars. Violators were revealed at the Hoptivka checkpoint in Ukraine's Kharkiv region. The sailors presented Russian-issued emergency travel documents instead of passports. The border guards drew up a report on the incident and denied the crew exit out of Ukraine.

On April 9, sailors made a second attempt to cross the Ukrainian border, having chosen the Chonhar checkpoint, but the Ukrainian border guards remained vigilant.

On April 10, Captain Horbenko was indicted on new charges – illegal fishing.

On April 19, two crew members of the Crimean-registered Nord fishing vessel seized in Ukraine managed to flee to Belarus, using Russian-issued passports where their names were spelled partly differently, thus allowing to avoid quality database checkup.

The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine stressed that, although Ukraine does not recognize Russian travel documents issued in the occupied Crimea, this measure does not extend to IDs provided by Russian consulate service in Ukraine.

The statement says that the two crew who managed to cross out of Ukraine did so "by fraudulent means."