Contents tagged with Kerch Strait

  • Ukraine releases sailors from captured Russian tanker

    Russian Embassy in Kyiv stated that crew members of the Russian ship NEYMA that were detained by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) in the port of Izmail have been released, reports RIA Novosti news agency. At the same time, the tanker remains under arrest.

    The sailors were released with obligation to appear for questioning. They are currently considered to be witnesses in the case, reports strana.ua news outlet.

    As previously reported, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) together with …

  • Russia files final charges against all 24 Ukrainian detained sailors

    The Russian Investigative Committee of the Federal Security Service filed final charges against all 24 Ukrainian sailors who were detained in the Kerch Starit, reports the lawyer Nikolai Polozov.

    "The final presentation of the charges means that the investigative actions related to the collection and procedural consolidation of evidence are completed. The next stage of the process for the detained to familiarize themselves with the materials of the criminal case," Polozov wrote on Facebook. …

  • Putin names condition for release of Ukrainian sailors

    At a press conference at the G20 Summit in Osaka Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Ukrainian sailors could be exchanged for Russian citizens who are detained in Ukraine, reports UNIAN news agency.

    Putin was asked whether the release of Ukrainian sailors was linked to the return of Russia to PACE and whether the Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Pavlo Klimkin rejected Russia's proposal to release the Ukrainian military.

    "No, there is no connection between PACE and Ukrainian …

  • Spanish consul swims across Kerch Strait in violation of Ukraine's ban

    Spain’s Honorary Consul in Uzbekistan Alfonso Lopez Pandiella participated in the Russian X-Waters competition on June 1, swimming across the Kerch Strait from the Chushka Spit, in the Krasnodar Territory of Russia, to the Yeni-Kale fortress in Kerch, reported Radio Svoboda.

    Pandiella confirmed this fact to journalists but declined to comment on whether the organizers had warned him about the consequences of visiting the annexed Crimea.

    “I don’t know. No comment,” he said.

    The diplomat also …

  • Kyiv: the US considers making Ukraine its chief military and political ally outside of NATO

    A new bill submitted to US Congress’s House of Representatives proposes to give Ukraine the status of the US’s chief military and political ally outside of NATO, the Ukrainian Embassy to Washington said in a Facebook post. The status will be in effect until Ukraine joins NATO, and will facilitate the procedure for the US to give defense assistance to Ukraine.

    The bill is titled “To provide support to Ukraine to defend its independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity, and for other …

  • NATO: Russia must immediately release Ukrainian ships and sailors

    Russia must immediately release the Ukrainian sailors and ships that were captured in the “Kerch Incident”, a NATO press representative told the media.

    Citing a statement released by NATO on 28 November 2018 and one by Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on 4 April 2019, the source emphasized that the alliance has repeatedly made it clear that there was no reason for Russia to use military force against the Ukrainian soldiers and vessels.

    On Saturday 25 May, the UN’s International Tribunal for …

  • U.S. Secretary of State urges Russia to release Ukrainian sailors

    Washington hopes that Moscow will be able to negotiate with the new government in Ukraine and release Ukrainian sailors who were detained in the Kerch Strait, stated U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo after a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Sochi, Interfax reports.

    "We want Russia to reach out to the new Ukrainian government to find a way out of this situation. We also urge the Russian government to release the representatives of the crew that were captured in the Kerch …

  • Kyiv: Russian warships block Ukrainian maritime economic zone in the Black Sea

    The Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Defense for European Integration, Anatoliy Petrenko, stated Russian warships are blocking the maritime economic zones of Ukraine, reports the press service of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry.

    He noted that the control of the Kerch Strait passage remains the prerogative of Russia which violates international law regarding free civil shipping.

    “The Russian Federation is especially active in the western part of the Black Sea, namely around the illegally seized our …

  • The Hague court to broadcast Ukraine against Russia dispute over violations in the Black Sea

    On June 10, 2019, the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague will begin a hearing of Ukraine and Russia dispute over the rights in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait. This information has been published on the court’s website.

    On the day of the hearing, the representatives of Russia will speak from 10:00 to 13:00 and from 14:30 to 17:30 with the possibility of additional time from 17:30 to 18:00. Ukraine’s representatives will speak on a similar schedule on June 11.

    The …

  • Lavrov ‘allows’ Ukrainian Navy ships to pass through the Kerch Strait

    Ukrainian warships can pass through the Kerch Strait into the Sea of ​​Azov without any problems, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in an interview to the TV network “Zvezda”, reported RIA Novosti.

    “As we have said many times, the fact is that Ukrainian warships can pass from the Black Sea to its ports in the Sea of ​​Azov without any problems. The only condition is that the safety standards for traversing the Kerch Strait must be observed,” he said.

    On 25 November last year, Russia  …