Ukraine seizes Russian tanker
amid rising tensions
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| A view shows the Russian tanker Nika Spirit detained by Ukraine's Security services in Izmail |
Ukraine says it has seized a Russian tanker in a Black Sea
port prompting an angry response from Moscow. The move comes just months after
Russia attacked Ukrainian vessels amid an ongoing conflict between the two
neighbours.
By Stefan J. Bos
Video footage showed men in uniform approaching a Russian
tanker. They soon enter the vessel questioning crew members on board. The
Ukrainian Security Service or SBU said it seized the Russian vessel moored in
the Ukrainian Black Sea port Izmail on Wednesday.
It claimed the Russian ship had entered Ukraine under its
new name, the Nika Spirit “to cover its involvement in illegal actions.” But
officials say they identified the vessel by its unique International Maritime
Organization number.
Ukrainian authorities suggest Moscow has been using the
tanker in a controversial Russian operation. Russian forces blocked Ukrainian
vessels from sailing through the Kerch Strait between the Black Sea and the Sea
of Azov in November last year.
Several Russian ships even fired on the Ukrainian vessels in
the Kerch Strait on November 25. That sparked a major crisis between the two
countries.
Russia seized the Ukrainian vessels and detained 24
Ukrainians on board.
Crimean Peninsula
The waters where that violent incident happened separate the
Crimean peninsula, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014, and Russia.
Relations between the two neighbors have also suffered
because of an ongoing war between Ukrainian government forces and
Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. That conflict, which began in
2014, has killed more than 13,000 people.
The seizure of the Russian tanker by Ukrainian security
forces has now further strained relations between Kiev and Moscow.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry has warned Ukraine, “there will
soon be consequences” if any Russian crew member were “taken as hostages.”
"Illegal Action"
In Moscow, senior Russian lawmaker Vladimir Dzhabarov called
Ukraine’s detention of the tanker was “absolutely illegal.” He added that
it was detrimental to relations between the two countries.
It was not immediately clear how the standoff would impact a
planned prisoners exchange between the two countries.
In Kiev, Ukraine’s ombudswoman said talks on the release of
the Ukrainian sailors from the three vessels seized by the Russian navy
off Crimea’s coast had intensified after Russian and Ukrainian leaders
spoke by phone earlier this month.
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