On Nov. 27, Anton Naumlyuk, a Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist, published the names of the 24 Ukrainian sailors that have been captured by Russia two days ago, citing Russian investigators.
The list includes: Serhiy Tsybizov, Andriy Artemenko, Volodymyr Tereshchenko, Yevhen Semydotsky, Viktor Bezpalchenko, Andriy Shevchenko, Volodymyr Varimez, Mykhailo Vlasyuk, Bogdan Holovash, S. Chuliba, Oleh Melnychuk, Bogdan Nebylytsa, Vladyslav Kostishyn, Serhiy Popov, Yuriy Bezyazychny, Roman Mokryak, Andriy Eider, Vasyl Soroka, Andriy Drach, Volodymyr Lisovy and Denys Hrytsenko.
Russia’s authorities occupying annexed Crimea have charged the sailors with illegally crossing the border.
A so-called court in Russian-occupied Simferopol arrested Varimez, Tsybizov, Oprysko, Bespalchenko, Budzylo and Tereshchenko on Nov. 27 for two months.
The Coast Guard of the Russian Federal Security Service attacked and seized three Ukrainian navy boats on Nov. 25 after the Ukrainian vessels tried to travel from the Black Sea into the Azov Sea through the Russian-controlled Kerch Strait. Six Ukrainian sailors were wounded in the shooting, and the three Ukrainian vessels were taken to a port in the city of Kerch in annexed Crimea. Ukrainian Chief of Staff Viktor Muzhenko said there had been 23 naval officers onboard in the navy vessels.
The incident took place on the border between Ukraine’s territorial waters off the Crimean coast and neutral waters.
Reacting to the incident, Ukraine’s parliament introduced on Nov. 26 a martial law for one month in regions adjacent to Russia, Moldova’s Russian-occupied Transnistria region, the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.
