The Foreign Ministry is looking for Yuri Shvidetzky, who was arrested on the Ukrainian cargo ship “Princess Nicole”. The Russians towed the ship to a port on the Crimean peninsula
Major efforts in the Foreign Ministry to bring about the release of Yuri Shevidecki, an Israeli sailor arrested on the Ukrainian cargo ship “Princess Nicole” last weekend, Itamar Eichner reports on Ynet. According to Kyiv, the Russians seized the ship – which sailed under the Ukrainian flag – on Saturday in the territorial waters of Romania, and towed it to the port of Sevastopol in the Crimean peninsula.
After the incident, Shevidecki’s brother called the Foreign Ministry in tears to help save his brother, and since then the Foreign Ministry has been looking for Yuri and is in contact with Russia to bring him home.
Apart from the ship “Princess Nicole”, the Russians also seized a ship called “Afina”. The Ukrainian Border Guard confirmed that the two ships had been captured in the Black Sea. Ukraine accused the Russian military of violating international law under the guise of “Operation Counter-Terrorism”, adding that there were 50 crew members on both ships.
According to the Ukrainians, on Friday the Russians captured a Ukrainian rescue ship, which stopped to assist a merchant ship on its way to Snake Island, and it is not clear what happened to its crew members.