The seven crewmembers of the Russian vessel Nord that were detained in Ukraine have been sent to the Russian-annexed Crimea and seven Ukrainian sailors have returned to Ukraine.
Alexei Zlovedov, the press secretary of Russia’s Commissioner for Human Rights Tatyana Moskalkova, announced this in a statement, the CFTS portal reports, citing the Interfax Ukraine news agency.
“The exchange has been completed. Seven of our sailors for seven Ukrainians,” Zlovedov told reporters.
However, according to him, the captain of the Nord vessel, against whom a criminal case has been launched, remains in Ukraine.
Ukraine’s State Border Service detained the Nord vessel with 10 crewmembers on board on March 25.
According to the TASS news agency (Russia), the crew of the Nord vessel was exchanged for the crew of the Ukrainian fishing vessel YaMK-0041.
The Nord vessel’s captain Volodymyr Horbenko has been charged with violation of the procedure for entering occupied territories of Ukraine (with the aim of harming the country’s interests) and illegal fishing. Kherson city court chose him a measure of restraint in the form of a personal obligation.
All the detained crewmembers of the Nord vessel are citizens of Ukraine. They have not relinquished their Ukrainian citizenship, although they have obtained Russian citizenship in the Crimea.
