Ukrainian consuls on Thursday met with three sailors from the Ukrainian naval ships captured in Russian waters last month, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said.
“Right now our consuls are meeting with our three wounded guys,” Klimkin said after an OSCE meeting in Milan, Italy. The Ukrainian top diplomat said further meetings with the remaining 21 crew members were planned for this week to check on their health.
Russian border guards detained three Ukrainian ships on November 25 after they entered a temporarily restricted area and tried to sail through the Kerch Strait. They ignored warnings to stop and maneuvered dangerously. One of the sailors later confessed he had been aware of the provocative nature of their actions.
In response to the Kerch Strait incident, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed a decree declaring martial law in several Ukrainian regions located near the Russian border and the coasts of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov