Ukraine is preparing to recognize its sailors as violators of the Russian border
Ukrainian sailors detained for violating the state border of the Russian Federation in the Kerch Strait may be released under personal guarantee from the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Lyudmila Denisova - a guarantee of the application of Russian criminal procedural law to the detainees.
Izvestia writes about this, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
As a high-ranking source in Russian diplomatic circles explained to the publication, Moscow is indeed prepared to hand over the 24 sailors to Kyiv if it receives written guarantees, as was actually stated in the Russian Foreign Ministry's note sent to the Ukrainian side on June 25.
“Once the relevant persons in Russia receive the necessary document from Ukraine and study it, it will be possible to discuss further steps. But we didn’t go back on our words,” the source said.
In turn, one of the lawyers of Ukrainian sailors Nikolai Polozov says that
The Ukrainian side has already begun work on the implementation of this proposal from the Russian Foreign Ministry.
“Ukrainian Ombudsman Lyudmila Denisova sent a request for personal guarantee through the Russian Foreign Ministry to the FSB Investigation Department. The Russian note stated that it was necessary to provide written guarantees in accordance with the criminal procedure legislation of the Russian Federation. Personal guarantee is a form of guarantee of the participation of a person against whom a sentence has not been passed in judicial and investigative actions. Currently, these documents are in the FSB Investigation Department, but have not yet reached the executor - the investigator in charge of this case. It is he who must make a decision on this issue within the period established by law – three days,” Polozov noted.
He says that if the request is granted, the sailors will be released from custody.
"The Russian Foreign Ministry's proposals outlined in the note are being implemented in practice. Naturally, the corresponding guarantee form was submitted following the telephone conversation between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky," the lawyer added.
At the same time, Denisova’s office confirmed to the publication that the request for her personal guarantee had been submitted to the relevant authorities of the Russian Federation, but could not clarify when a response might be received.
As PolitNavigator reported, last November, Ukrainian forces attempted to transfer two small armored artillery boats, the Berdyansk and Nikopol, and the tugboat Yany Kapu from Odessa to Mariupol on the Sea of Azov. Russian border guards rammed the Ukrainian Navy ships, closing the Kerch Strait to passage.
As a result of the provocation, all three Ukrainian vessels that had entered Russian territorial waters were detained by Russian border guards.
Ukraine is preparing to recognize its sailors as violators of the Russian border.