Sergey Badamshin, one of the lawyers of the Ukrainian sailors, has said one of the Ukrainian sailors captured near the Kerch Strait on November 25, 2018, Vasyl Soroka, needs a medical examination due to an injured hand.
"The injured hand has not been recuperated. It hurts. There is still an edama. There is still shrapnel inside. He needs an examination, the decision on surgery and rehabilitation," the lawyer wrote on Facebook.
"I am saddened by the irresponsibility of some doctors. Despite repeated appeals, no recommendations were given on rehabilitation and recuperation. Medical documentation on the application has not been provided as well," he said.
UNIAN memo. On the morning of November 25, Russia 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.
The Ukraine Navy Command noted that the Russian side had been informed of the plans to re-deploy the vessels in advance in accordance with international standards to ensure the safety of navigation. The Russian coast guard ship "Don" rammed the Ukrainian tugboat, damaging the Ukrainian vessel.
As the Ukrainian boats were heading back in the Odesa direction after being rejected passage via the Kerch Strait, Russian coast guards opened aimed fire on them.
All 24 crew members on board were captured and later remanded in custody for two months, being charged with "illegal border crossing" (the sailors are facing up to six years in prison). Three crewmen were wounded in the attack.
Russian-controlled "courts" in occupied Crimea ruled that all 24 detainees should be remanded in custody, after which they were transferred to the Moscow-based Lefortovo and Matrosskaya Tishina detention centers.
Moscow's Lefortovo district court on January 15, 2019, decided to keep 20 Ukrainian sailors in remand until April 24. Today, January 16, the court extended the detention term for another four Ukrainian sailors.
