Ukraine Detains Russian Tanker as Black Sea Tensions Flare
- Ship played role in 2018 detention of Ukrainian vessels
- Kiev releases Russian sailors after strong protest from Moscow
Ukrainian sailors, who were detained in the Kerch Strait by Russian forces, await a hearing in Moscow on April 17, 2019.
Photographer: Sefa Karacan/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Ukraine detained and searched a Russian tanker near the Black Sea port of Odessa, revisiting a naval standoff from last year that stoked tensions between the two ex-Soviet neighbors.
The State Security Service, or SBU, said it was seeking a court order to hold the NEYMA tanker as part of a criminal probe related to the 2018 clash. It seized documents and questioned the crew. The ten сrew members -- all Russians -- on the small oil-products carrier were later released, though the ship will remain, the Russian embassy in Kiev said, according to RIA Novosti. Ukrainian officials couldn’t immediately be reached to comment on that.