Ukrainian naval boats seized by Russia en route to Ukraine

The three Ukrainian naval boats seized by Russia near the Kerch Strait on November 25, 2018, are en route to Ukrainian ports. They are expected to arrive on November 20-21.

As was reported, Russia on November 25, 2018, blocked the passage to the Kerch Strait for the Ukrainian tugboat "Yany Kapu" and two armored naval boats "Berdyansk" and "Nikopol," which were on a scheduled re-deployment from the Black Sea port of Odesa to the Azov Sea port of Mariupol. All 24 crew members on board were captured and charged with "illegal border crossing" under Part 3 of Article 322 of the Criminal Code of Russia (imprisonment for up to six years). Later the Ukrainian sailors were freed and returned to Ukraine in a major prisoner swap between Ukraine and Russia on September 7, 2019.

The ITLOS on May 25, 2019, ordered Russia to immediately release the three vessels and return them under Ukrainian control.