Russia gives back 3 seized Ukraine ships

Russia said yesterday it had handed back three Ukrainian naval ships seized off the Crimean coast a year ago, but Kiev did not immediately confirm the move.

“On November 18 the handover took place to the Ukrainian side of three Ukraine naval ships that illegally crossed the Russian border in November 2018,” the foreign ministry said in a statement. However, Ukrainian Navy spokesman Oleg Chalyk told AFP: “We are not commenting at this stage.”

In November 2018, Russian forces boarded and took control of the ships as they headed through the Kerch Strait, a narrow waterway leading to the Sea of Azov that is used by Ukraine and Russia. The seizure of the two gunboats and a tugboat was the most serious confrontation between the two countries since the start of the Ukraine conflict in 2014.

 

Russia gives back 3 seized Ukraine ships

Russia said yesterday it had handed back three Ukrainian naval ships seized off the Crimean coast a year ago, but Kiev did not immediately confirm the move. On November 18 the handover took place to the Ukrainian side of three Ukraine naval ships that illegally crossed the Russian border in November 2018, the foreign ministry said in a statement. However, Ukrainian Navy spokesman Oleg Chalyk told AFP: We are not commenting at this stage. In November 2018, Russian forces boarded and took control of the ships as they headed through the Kerch Strait, a narrow waterway leading to the Sea of Azov that is used by Ukraine and Russia. The seizure of the two gunboats and a tugboat was the most serious confrontation between the two countries since the start of the Ukraine conflict in 2014.