EU ambassadors agree on sanctions against eight Russians responsible for detaining Ukrainian sailors

The ambassadors of the EU member states have agreed on sanctions against eight Russians responsible for detaining Ukrainian sailors and ships near the Kerch Strait in November last year.

“EU ambassadors have agreed sanctions on 8 people from Russia responsible for detaining the 24 servicemen from Ukraine after the Azov Sea incident in November,” Rikard Jozwiak, a Brussels-based reporter of the Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty posted on Twitter.

According to the reporter, the ambassadors also agreed on a decision to prolong the sanctions against 163 people and 44 entities by six months. The sanctions are expected to be approved next week.

On November 25, 2018, Russian border ships in the Kerch Strait fired on and seized three Ukrainian warships that sailed from the port of Odesa to the port of Mariupol. Twenty-four Ukrainian sailors were captured. Subsequently, they were transferred to Moscow, most of them are held in the Lefortovo remand prison. The Moscow courts ruled to extend the arrest of Ukrainian sailors by the end of April.

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