Russia seized Ukrainian rescue vessel Sapfir at start of invasion: Details of war crime

Odesa Regional Prosecutor's Office sent to court an indictment against three servicemen of the Russian Black Sea Fleet — the first deputy commander of the fleet, commander of the reconnaissance ship Ekvator, and captain of the rescue tug Shakhtar.

They are charged with war crime — unlawful deprivation of liberty of civilians, committed by prior conspiracy by a group of persons.

Details of the crime

According to the investigation, on February 26, 2022, the Russian military seized the Ukrainian search and rescue vessel Sapfir near Snake Island. The vessel was performing a humanitarian mission, not a military one.

There were 21 civilians on board — 17 crew members and 4 civilians, including a medic and a clergy, all of whom were illegally detained.

After the seizure, a senior officer of the Russian fleet interrogated the captain, trying to establish connections of the crew with the Ukrainian military and special services, knowing about the humanitarian status of the vessel.

Later, people were restricted in movement, interrogations and searches were carried out with threats and demonstrations of weapons. Subsequently, the vessel was towed to temporarily occupied Crimea, and the crew was taken to the territory of Russia. In March–May 2022, they were released as part of an exchange.

The serviceman who gave the order to seize Sapfir was later promoted to commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

Earlier, the commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, Admiral Sergey Pinchuk, received notice of suspicion in absentia. He gave an order to seize the Ukrainian rescue vessel Sapfir.

As the investigation established, on February 26, 2022, at his order, Russian forces seized the Ukrainian search and rescue vessel Sapfir, which was performing a humanitarian mission in the area of Snake Island.