KYIV. Jan 21 (Interfax) - The European Union may consider the imposition of sanctions on Russia over the detention of the crews of the Ukrainian military vessels near the Kerch Strait, Danish Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen said.
"Russia still detains 24 Ukrainian seamen. If not released soon #EU will have to look into sanctions against Russia," Samuelsen said on Twitter on Monday.
He also described Russia's behavior in the Azov Sea as unacceptable.
On November 25, 2018, Russian border guards used weapons to stop three Ukrainian naval vessels, the Yany Kapu tug and the Berdyansk and the Nikopol armored gunboats, on their way from Odesa to Mariupol in the Kerch Strait. The vessels were escorted to Kerch.
The Federal Security Service (FSB) said the ships entered Russia's territorial waters on orders from Kyiv and described the incident as an act of provocation coordinated by two Ukrainian Security Service officers. Russia also said that Kyiv did not duly notify it that naval vessels were planning to pass through the Kerch Strait.
Kyiv called the border guards' actions unlawful and accused Moscow of violating the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and a treaty between Ukraine and Russia on cooperation in using the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait.
Courts in Simferopol and Kerch remanded 22 sailors and two Ukrainian Security Service officials in custody until January 25, 2019.
The Ukrainians are charged with "conspiracy by a group of persons or an organized group to illegally cross the border using violence or the threat to use violence." If found guilty, they face up to six years in prison.
In late November, the Ukrainians were escorted to Moscow. According to a court ruling, all Ukrainian sailors will remain under arrest until April 24.
Kyiv described the arrested sailors as prisoners of war. Russian officials said that they cannot be considered as such, because they are charged with a criminal offense and Russia and Ukraine are not engaged in a military conflict or a war.