“Transferred in good condition”: FSB denied Kiev’s statements about “ditched” ships of the Navy

Warships were handed over to Ukraine in good condition, the FSB of Russia emphasized after Kiev announced the poor condition of the Nikopol, Berdyansk and Yana Kapu tugboats handed over by Moscow on November 18. In support of their words, the agency published a video with the ships.

“On the frames it is clearly visible that the boats and the tugboat were handed over to the Ukrainian side in good condition and in good condition. If during the transition from the coast of Crimea to Ochakovo the Ukrainian side managed to “ditch” the vessels and bring the plumbing to an inadequate state, then this is the problem of the Ukrainian side, ”the ministry said in a statement.

The frames show that all the equipment is in place, including lighting and plumbing. Thus, the FSB responded to the words of the head of the Navy Admiral Igor Voronchenkov that Russia “ditched” the Ukrainian ships.

“The Russians ruined them: they even took off shades, sockets and toilets. So we will show the whole world the barbaric attitude of Russians towards this, ”he said on Channel 4.

On Thursday November 21, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky supported the admiral, saying that he intended to demand from Russia to "return" the equipment that was allegedly removed from the ships returned to Kiev.

“What we saw: really, partially lacking equipment, not enough weapons. There will be an investigation. We will see all the details, ”he said after inspecting the ships in Ochakovo.

According to Zelensky, the repair of ships will take about three months.

Such a reaction of the Ukrainian leadership is regrettable, said Olga Kovitidi, member of the Federation Council Committee on Defense and Security.

“I regret that Ukraine was not able to properly assess the friendly step of Russia. Despite the current situation, I am sure that sooner or later relations between the two countries will normalize. Both Ukraine and current politicians will be ashamed of such a plane of fraternal relations, which is reduced to the level of closets and bulbs, ”she told RT.

Zelensky’s statement says that even with Moscow’s attempts to establish a constructive dialogue, Kiev continues to pursue an anti-Russian policy, said State Duma deputy from the Crimea Ruslan Balbek.

“Any of our constructive steps to establish relations with Ukraine only lead to the fury of anti-Russian-minded elements. Today, official Kiev is either in error, or actually held captive by those who demand an even greater conflict with Russia and are in no way going to soberly assess the situation, ”he stressed in an interview with RT.

"The desire to wash away the stain of shame"

Statements by Ukrainian officials should be supported by information about the state of the ships in the Kerch Strait at the time of the incident, said Sergey Chennyk, editor-in-chief of the military-historical magazine Military Crimea.

“Nobody knows which ships went on a hike - maybe they went to a repair base ... This is a goodwill gesture of the Russian Federation, which Ukraine traditionally answered with a fig,” he explained in an interview with RT.

According to Chennyk, such statements are caused by a desire to rehabilitate themselves after a failure in the Kerch Strait.

“The ships were taken when they aggressively acted against Russia, tried to break through the state border line, tried to act actively,” the expert recalled. - Now here is the desire to wash off this stain of shame by any means, and it seems that they did not come up with anything clever how to show their “heroism” in this way.

Recall, “Berdyansk”, “Nikopol” and “Yany Kapu” were detained in November last year during an attempt to illegally cross the Russian border in the Kerch Strait region. Ships were returned to Ukraine on November 18. As explained in the Russian Foreign Ministry, law enforcement agencies completed all investigative measures in the framework of the case of illegal border crossing, which required the presence of ships, and therefore it was decided to transfer them to Kiev.

“These ships are material evidence in the ongoing criminal process in Russia on the illegal crossing of our border. Their transfer to custody of the Ukrainian side became possible due to the fact that the Russian competent authorities completed the necessary investigative actions in relation to the ships and their presence on the territory of the Russian Federation to continue the criminal process is not required, ”the Foreign Ministry commented.

The ministry also warned that Russia will continue to suppress provocations at its borders.

“The Russian side intends to continue to harshly suppress any provocations at its borders, including in order to ensure the safety of navigation in accordance with Russian law, bilateral treaties and other applicable international law,” the diplomats emphasized.

“Kiev needs noise around the sailors”

During the detention last year, 24 people were on board the ships - 22 sailors and two SBU officers. During the searches, the FSB found documents in one of the boats, according to which the Ukrainian crews were ordered to try to secretly cross the Russian border and enter the Sea of ​​Azov. In this regard, the incident in Russia was described as a provocation aimed at increasing the ratings of then-President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko.

A criminal case was initiated under Part 3 of Art. 322 of the Criminal Code (unlawful suppression of the state border of the Russian Federation by an organized group). The sailors were placed under arrest, the ships stood in the port of Kerch.

In July, Russia proposed Ukraine transferring sailors and ships if it assured that the criminal prosecution against them would continue. However, Kiev refused to even discuss the conditions. As the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, noted that this indicates Ukraine’s desire to fan a scandal around this story, rather than find a solution.

“The Ukrainian side refused not only to use the release procedures available in Russian legislation, but also, in principle, to discuss this issue. Kiev does not need sailors; Kiev needs noise around sailors. That’s why they were sent to the Kerch Strait in November 2018, ”she wrote on Facebook.

All 24 Ukrainians were transferred to Ukraine on September 7 as part of an exchange between Moscow and Kiev in the 35 to 35 format. This happened thanks to telephone conversations between Russian Presidents Vladimir Putin and Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky.