With Black Sea Fleet sailor missing, authorities keep silent

Almost two months ago, two Russian sailors on a missile cruiser jumped overboard during exercises in the Mediterranean Sea. Now the mother of one of those men says she has reason to believe her son, Dmitry Chaikin, is alive. Chaikin's mother, Ludmila, also says the Russian authorities have not given her any information about the incident, and she does not know if a search for Chaikin is being conducted.

Ludmila Chaikina claims investigators believe her son is alive and is most likely on the coast of Greece at the moment. When her son’s life jacket was found, it was unbuckled, and Chaikina said that he either “unbuckled it himself, in order to swim, or it was taken off of him.” Chaikina noted that her son was happy with his service and wanted to stay in the Navy afterwards.

“We cannot really obtain any information about whether they are searching for him, and if so, then who is doing it. We don’t even know under what circumstances he fell overboard, or what happened. Maybe he is [alive] and doesn’t remember anything,” Ludmila Chaikina said.

Flot.com

• On the night of June 2, two sailors serving in the Russian Navy on the missile cruiser Moskva (part of the Black Sea Fleet) jumped overboard during exercises in the Mediterranean Sea. The incident was reported in the media on June 22.
• Greek fisherman found the body of one of the sailors several days after he went missing. The second sailor, Dmitry Chaikin, is still missing.
• According to Flot.com, a criminal case has been launched against the men for abandoning their posts. The official military prosecution office of the Black Sea Fleet has confirmed that a criminal investigation has been launched, but has not provided any details.
• Ahead of the 2014 Crimean referendum (in which Crimeans voted to secede from Ukraine and join Russia), the missile cruiser Moskva was used to blockade Ukraine’s warships from leaving their base.