Russian ships capture two Ukrainian vessels

Russian ships have captured two Ukrainian ships with civilian crews.

That's according to the press service of the Ukrainian State Border Guard Service, Ukrinform reports.

"Yesterday, after declaring a 'counter-terrorist operation' in the northwestern part of the Black Sea, Russian Navy ships captured two more Ukrainian civilian ships," the statement said.

According to the report, the tanker Afina, staying in the territorial sea of Romania, 22 miles away from Snake Island, received via an open channel of communication and safety of navigation a command to approach a Russian warship for inspection. The owner of the Afina tanker informed all competent authorities in Ukraine about this.

Meanwhile, monitoring the movement of ships in the area, maritime border guards recorded a sharp and illogical change of course by another ship under the Ukrainian flag.

The Princess Nicole dry cargo ship from Romanian waters also headed for Snake Island.

Almost as soon as both civilian ships approached the Russian warships, the automatic identification system (AIS) was turned off and contact with them was lost.

And this morning, the ship's automatic identification systems showed them staying 18 miles from occupied Crimea.

The Ukrainian State Border Guard Service emphasized that Russian warships have once again defiantly violated international maritime law and, under the guise of a self-proclaimed counterterrorism operation, pirated two Ukrainian-flagged ships carrying nearly 50 civilians.

The agency recalled that the day before the same group of ships of the Russian Navy seized the Sapfir search and rescue ship, which left for Snake Island with a humanitarian mission.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24 declared the beginning of a "special military operation" in Donbas.