Ukraine filed a claim with the ECHR against Russia due to the incident in the Kerch Strait

Ukraine filed a lawsuit against Russia with the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), demanding thatthe arrest of its sailors , who were detained on November 25, 2018, under an article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for violating the procedure for crossing the state border in the Kerch Strait region, was illegal.

“The government of Ukraine complied with the instructions of the court and filed a full statement in case number 55855/18 on January 7, 2019. The government demands recognition by the court of the violation by the Russian Federation of the rights of 24 Ukrainian sailors during the illegal attack on Ukrainian ships, the injury and capture of sailors in the Kerch Strait on November 25 2018, their illegal detention in penitentiary institutions of the Russian Federation and criminal prosecution,” Deputy Minister of Justice of Ukraine, Commissioner for ECHR Affairs Ivan Lishchina wrote on Facebook on January 7.

On November 25, Russian border guards detained with weapons in the area of ​​the Kerch Strait the tugboat "Yany Kapu" and small armored artillery boats "Berdyansk" and "Nikopol", heading from Odessa to Mariupol on the Sea of ​​Azov. The ships were escorted to Kerch. According to the Russian Federation, these three ships of the Ukrainian Navy violated the procedure for the passage of warships through the territorial sea of ​​the Russian Federation when traveling from the Black Sea to the Azov Sea.

The Kiev District Court of Simferopol arrested until January 25, 2019, all 24 sailors from three ships of the Ukrainian Navy. They are suspects in a criminal case initiated under Part 3 of Art. 322 (“Illegal crossing of the state border of Russia”) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which provides for up to six years in prison. Those in custodywere transported to the Moscow Lefortovo pre-trial detention center.

In Kyiv, detained sailors are called prisoners of war. The FSB stated that they cannot be considered as such, since they are accused of a criminal offense, and Russia and Ukraine are not in a state of war or military conflict.

On November 26, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine approved the decree of President Petro Poroshenko on the introduction of martial law in ten border regions of the country from November 28 for 30 days, and the head of state himself announced the threat of a full-scale war with Russia.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense also promised to continue sending ships to the Kerch Strait even under the threat of large-scale Russian aggression. The Russian parliament believes that the actions of the Ukrainian authorities could lead to a new world war.