“In neutral waters”: details of the transfer of ships detained in the Kerch Strait to Ukraine became known

The transfer to Kiev of three ships of the Ukrainian Navy, detained in the fall of 2018 as a result of the incident in the Kerch Strait, should happen on November 18. Such information was reported to journalists in the press service of the border control of the FSB of Russia in the Republic of Crimea.

“In accordance with the agreements reached with the Ukrainian side, three Ukrainian vessels - the Yana Kapu tugboat and the Nikopol and Berdyansk small armored artillery boats - are being towed from the port of Kerch to the agreed transfer point to the Ukrainian side, which will be held on November 18,” stated in the press service.

As the source of TASS in the power structures of the Southern Federal District specified, it is expected that the transfer of ships will occur in the neutral waters of the Black Sea near the southeastern tip of the Kerch Peninsula - Cape Takil.

“About noon on Monday,” the source said.

Recall that on November 25, 2018, three ships of the Ukrainian Navy illegally crossed the state border of Russia and entered the territorial waters of the country.

The FSB border service was forced to use force when detaining boats. Also 22 Ukrainian sailors and two SBU officers were detained. Subsequently, it turned out that they deliberately violated the established procedure for the sea passage through the Kerch Strait.

The process of transporting Ukrainian ships began on the afternoon of November 17. According to RIA Novosti, the tugboat Yany Kapu and the Nikopol and Berdyansk boats left the parking lot escorted by Russian ships.

“They will go to the meeting point without any military convoy, our territorial waters go along the peninsula and additional protection is not needed. Ordinary vessels also left Ukraine, without weapons on board, ”said Dmitry Belik, a State Duma deputy from Sevastopol.

In turn, commenting on the process of returning ships, the Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots Viktor Vodolatsky expressed the opinion that such actions can help normalize Russian-Ukrainian relations.

“We believe that any actions related to reducing tensions and confrontation between the two states should contribute to the development of those relations that existed before 2014,” the source said.

In his opinion, all of the problems of relations between Moscow and Kiev cannot be resolved overnight, however, the current actions of Russia indicate their readiness to act in a constructive manner.

“Today’s actions related to the return of detained ships. All these actions show that Russia is a country that adheres and will adhere to good neighborly relations with Ukraine, ”concluded Vodolatsky.

Points of contact

Earlier, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadim Pristayko said that the Foreign Ministry sent a note to Moscow asking them to “name the coordinates and time” when Kiev could pick up its ships. Moreover, after the return of the vessels, the Ukrainian side intends to inspect them for signs of shelling.

“Our military is ready to arrive anywhere and pick up our ships,” the Ukrainian minister said.

Note that in the summer the Russian side itself offered Kiev to return the equipment of the Ukrainian Navy, but was refused.

“Ships can be handed over, but under written guarantees of the participation of each of the 24 sailors in pre-trial and trial and the safety of ships as material evidence,” said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Komsomolskaya Pravda radio.

However, Pavel Klimkin, who was then the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, said that "this will not happen." He also stressed that Moscow must comply with the decision of the UN International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, although Russian diplomats indicated that it was not possible to apply the procedures specified in the document to the incident.

"As previously repeatedly noted by the Russian side, the statements made by both Russia and Ukraine when signing and ratifying the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea exclude the possibility of engaging the dispute resolution procedures provided for in the Convention regarding the incident of November 25, 2018 in the Kerch Strait region," - emphasized in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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• © Alexey Malgavko

In July 2019, the FSB indicted the detainees under Part 3 of Art. 322 of the Criminal Code "Illegal crossing of the state border of the Russian Federation, committed by an organized group."

And in September, 22 sailors and two SBU officers became participants in the exchange of retained persons according to the “35 for 35” formula, which took place between Moscow and Kiev. They were released from custody under the personal obligation of the authorized representative of the Verkhovna Rada for Human Rights, Lyudmila Denisova, “as a person who deserves trust, according to Article 103 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation”.

Later, the lawyer of the accused Nikolay Polozov said that the case against Ukrainian sailors is at the stage of familiarization with the materials of the criminal proceedings.

Crimean political scientist Vyacheslav Ganzhara believes that the return of Ukrainian ships was the expected event after the exchange of Ukrainian sailors. In his opinion, Moscow and Kiev have already found “common ground” after the change of power in Ukraine.

“Certain common ground during the presidency of Zelensky have already been found, in particular the exchange of persons held in the territory of Ukraine and Russia. In anticipation of the Norman meeting, we can assume that there will be some kind of shift in the issue of resolving the situation in the Donbass, ”the expert said in an interview with RT.

At the same time, he described the detained vessels as “floating cans” and added that for Russia these ships are of no interest except as a tool for forming a dialogue.

“We said a year ago that the quality of the ship reflects the state of affairs in the Ukrainian Navy, and we don’t lose anything in terms of strategic interests. Therefore, such a move will indeed become a goodwill gesture towards the Ukrainian state in anticipation of this meeting, ”concluded Ganzhara.