Ukraine seizes Russian ship over illegal sand mining in the Black Sea
Ukraine has seized a Russian dredge ship for illegal sand mining in the Karkinitsky Bay of the Black Sea, Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuri Lutsenko reported on Facebook.
The Crimean Prosecutor's Office is in charge of issues of illegal sand mining in the Karkinitsky Bay area of the Black Sea, including the Swan Islands reserve, on the Russian-annexed Crimean territory.
It has been established that the dredge vessel was carrying dredge from the home port of Tuapse, in Russia, which belongs to the Trans Services Maritime campaign.
"The Russian Federation has been traditionally using stolen sand for the illegal construction of the occupational bridge in the Kerch region," Lutsenko said.
In order to compensate for losses in criminal proceedings, the investigative judge's decision granted the petition by the Crimean prosecutor's office to arrest the vessel.
Ukraine earlier arrested the Russian fishing vessel Nord. The ship was detained in the Sea of Azov.