Sailors of Russian vessel detained in Ukraine released

MOSCOW

Ukraine released the crew of a Russian Tanker that it seized at the port of Izmail near Odessa in the southeast of the country, Russia's embassy in Ukraine said on Thursday.

The sailors are are currently on their way home, though the vessel, Neyma, remained at the port, the embassy underlined in a statement.

Earlier today the Russian tanker, Nika Spirit, was identified by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) as tanker Nеyma, which allegedly blocked Ukrainian vessels in the Kerch Strait last year.

"The Security Service of Ukraine together with the Military Prosecutor's Office detained the Russian tanker Neyma, which had blocked the Ukrainian military ships in the Kerch Strait," the SBU said in a statement.

The seized tanker is considered a piece of evidence as the SBU is preparing a petition to the court for its arrest, the SBU added.

Russian ombudswoman Tatyana Moskalkova and the tanker's owner Altomar Shipping company confirmed that the sailors were let go.

"The latest information is as follows: 10 sailors, citizens of the Russian Federation, are currently on the bus from Ukraine to Moldova. They were not detained, no procedural claims -- neither in violation of administrative, nor in violation of criminal, nor in violation of civil law -- were not brought against them. Their passports were checked and then they were accompanied to the bus for transportation to Moldova, and from Moldova they will fly to Moscow," Moskalkova said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said the country's embassy is investigating the circumstances of the incident.

"If we are talking about taking Russians hostage, it will be qualified as a grave violation of international law, and then it will have its consequences soon," a ministry source told reporters in Moscow.

The source also added that the episode will not contribute to the release of the Ukrainian sailors who are currently in a pretrial detention center in Moscow.

Russia and Ukraine have been at loggerheads since 2014 when Russia annexed Crimea after a controversial referendum.

Turkey, as well as the UN General Assembly, viewed the annexation as illegal.

Ukraine also blamed Kremlin for separatist violence in eastern Ukraine, near the border with Russia.

The situation aggravated after the Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, killing all 283 passengers and 15 crew members on board, including 28 Australians.

Kiev put the responsibility on the pro-Russian militants in Donbas. In turn, Moscow accuses Ukraine of shooting down the plane.