The captain of the Nord told how he escaped from Ukraine
The captain of the seiner "Nord" Vladimir Gorbenko, who managed to get from Ukrainian captivity to Crimea, told the details of his return.
On the Rossiya 24 television channel, he reported that he had left his relatives in Melitopol, where he had been staying for the past few months while the investigation was ongoing, without informing anyone. He hitchhiked to the Crimean border and crossed at the Chaplynka checkpoint, according to a PolitNavigator correspondent.
“I chose the moment when they left for work, left their phones, got ready, bought myself another handset in order to be able to take a ride with an open number, use BlaBlaCar and went on the road. With transfers, slowly, I finally got to the Chaplynka checkpoint. I came there, showed my Russian passport... It turned out, I’m home,” Gorbenko said.
He emphasized that he did not have a ban on leaving the territory of Ukraine, therefore returning home is not any crime: “The case, by and large, has stalled. The investigation is over and the case is in court. All legal restrictions have been removed from me, I have no obligations. Including a ban on travel to Crimea. Courts are postponed, every time I come there are some glitches, some uncertainty. I decided for myself - what if I take it myself and, without notifying anyone, try it and go.”
At the same time, the fisherman stated that he was ready to continue to participate in the consideration of his case, but only via video link: “I am ready, if they have a desire, we can continue - video conference, everything else. I can continue all this next to my family, be responsible for my actions, because I am completely sure that I am right.”
As a reminder, it became known today that Vladimir Gorbenko, captain of the Crimean seiner Nord, which was seized by Ukraine and is the last crew member held by Kiev pending trial, has managed to escape captivity and return to Crimea.
Speaker of the State Border Service of Ukraine Oleg Slobodyan claims that the Nord captain did not officially cross the border.
PolitNavigator also wrote that the captain's return marks the end of the story surrounding the detention of Crimean fishermen by Ukrainian security forces. Russia must still fight for the return of the illegally detained seiner, which is currently in the Berdyansk seaport.
The captain of the Nord told how he escaped from Ukraine.