One hundred days. As of March 5, the Ukrainian sailors captured by Russia on November 25, 2018, had spent 100 days as prisoners of war. The men were seized off three Ukrainian Navy vessels – the artillery boats Berdyansk and Nikopol, and the sea mule tugboat Yany Kapu – as they were sailing in the Black Sea toward the Azov Sea. The incident near the Kerch Strait was a clear violation of international law and an incontrovertible act of war. The Russian coast guard first rammed the tugboat, then fired upon all three ships and took the ships and all aboard into custody. Since then, the men – who have been charged with trespassing on “Russian territory” – have been POWs. They face sentences of up to six years in prison.
The Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group (KHPG) pointed out: “Russia’s behavior was condemned by the international community, but the sanctions thus far have been ‘like a pinprick to an elephant,’ according to Nikolai Polozov, the coordinator of the lawyers representing the 24 POWs.”
KHPG reported that “the FSB resorted to its standard (and illegal) methods at the very beginning, and forced three of the men to repeat on camera that they had ‘illegally crossed Russia’s state border.’ ” Thus, it was important that a team of lawyers, one for each prisoner, was quickly organized by Ukraine. The human rights monitoring organization went on to cite Mr. Polozov’s explanation that the lawyers’ first priority was to prevent the Russian authorities and FSB from confusing and disorienting the men, especially given the “ferocious working-over” to which they were being subjected. The FSB would hold “talks” with each of the POWs, trying to get them to confess to having committed a crime or to give testimony against the others. In some cases, “special” cellmates were planted with the men. “Our lawyers were able to explain to all of the POWs the position based on the Third Geneva Convention (relative to the treatment of prisoners of war). All of the naval sailors have stated both to the investigators and the courts that they are under the protection of this convention and are prisoners of war,” he underscored. Indeed, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted a resolution that states the detained sailors must be treated in accordance with the Geneva Convention. At the same time, PACE demanded their immediate release, as did other governments and international bodies, including the European Union.
The servicemen are currently held in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison; a Moscow district court ruled that they will be held in remand until the end of April. The latest news is that they will undergo psychological and psychiatric examinations, as per another court ruling. In the meantime, their lawyers are preparing individual appeals to the European Court of Human Rights and other international courts.
Five days after Russia’s attack on Ukraine’s ships, President Donald Trump tweeted: “Based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia, I have decided it would be best for all parties concerned to cancel my previously scheduled meeting…” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley both condemned the unwarranted attack and expressed support for Ukraine in its ongoing war with Russia. Since then, the EU has imposed sanctions on Russian officers who took part in the attack on the Ukrainian vessels; the U.S. has sent ships into the Black Sea, most recently the guided-missile destroyer Donald Cook for NATO maritime security operations; and the EU is expected to officially announce new sanctions in the coming days.
To be sure, there has been vocal international condemnation of Russia’s aggression, but it has yielded no results. The detention of Ukraine’s sailors has now passed the 100-day mark, and their ordeal appears to be far from over. Back home, the sailors’ families fear that the world has forgotten about these hostages of Russia. “Our kids are in need of help,” Lyuba Chuliba, mother of 28-year-old Sergei Chuliba, told the CBC. “The whole world must know that our boys are good.” It’s well past time for the world to take stronger action.