Russia published the testimony of captured Ukrainian warship sailors
Seaman Sergei Tsybizov of Ukraine provided testimony to the FSB.
The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) yesterday released a video of the interrogation of Ukrainian soldiers on three warships captured by the country’s Coast Guard in the Black Sea on November 25, according to TASS.
`We deliberately ignored the Russian Coast Guard’s request to stop via radio waves. On board we had machine guns and a lot of ammunition. I knew that it was a provocative act,` said Vladimir Lesovoy, commander of the unit.
Lesovoy confirmed that it had received orders to move from Odessa port to Mariupol port, a journey that forced Ukrainian warships to pass through the Russian-controlled Kerch Strait connecting the Black Sea with the Sea of Azov.
The gunboat Berdyansk of the Ukrainian navy before being captured by the Russian coast guard in the Black Sea.
Andrei Drach, a Ukrainian intelligence officer who was also on the Nikopol, admitted that the ship entered Russian territorial waters and received a notice from the coast guard that they were violating Russian law and asked to leave.
`When the ships entered Russian territorial waters, the coast guard asked us to stop and wait for further instructions, but we continued moving. Russian ships contacted us, warning us they would open fire if we did not stop. Captain
FSB confirmed that Ukrainian warships entered Russian territorial waters after receiving direct orders from the Kiev government and that all three warships’ activities were coordinated by two Ukrainian Security Agency officers present on board.
The General Staff of the Ukrainian Army yesterday also released a video that it claimed recorded a radio exchange between the sailors of a Russian coast guard ship and the commander on shore, in which Russian officers said
In a video released by the Russian Coast Guard yesterday, sailors on their patrol boat also urged each other to rush their ship into one of three Ukrainian warships during the chase.
Location of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.
On November 25, the Russian Coast Guard opened fire and captured three Ukrainian navy ships after accusing them of violating territorial waters and engaging in dangerous actions.
Relations between Moscow and Kiev deteriorated after Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula and the separatist movement broke out in eastern Ukraine since 2014. Russia’s seizure of Ukrainian warships is expected to escalate relations between the two countries.
Nguyen Hoang
Olivia