Poroshenko demands release of 23 Ukrainian sailors held in Kerch Strait, return of vessels

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Published Nov. 26, 2018. Updated Nov. 26 at 2:23 pm

This handout picture taken and released by the Ukrainian Presidential press service shows President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko leading a session of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine in Kyiv early on November 26, 2018, following an incident in the Black Sea off Moscow-annexed Crimea. - Russia said on November 25 that it has seized three Ukrainian naval ships by force in a strait near Moscow-annexed Crimea, sparking alarm among Kyiv's Western allies and raising fears of military escalation. Ukraine's navy had accused Russia of the unprecedented incident including firing on its vessels in the Kerch Strait, a narrow waterway that gives access to the Sea of Azov that is used by Ukraine and Russia.

Photo by AFP

Editor’s Note: This statement is from President Petro Poroshenko’s official website.

President Petro Poroshenko appealed to the Russian leadership with a demand to release the Ukrainian sailors and ships detained in the Kerch Strait.

“I appeal to the leadership of the Russian Federation with a demand to immediately release the Ukrainian servicemen who were brutally detained in violation of international law and whose fate is unknown,” President stressed during the meeting of the National Security and Defense Council.