Russian court jails 9 more Ukrainian sailors

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Nine more Ukrainian sailors captured during Sunday’s confrontation with Russia in a strait next to Crimea have been sent to jail for two months by a Russian court.

A total of 24 Ukrainian servicemen, including two security service agents, were arrested on Sunday, when three Ukrainian naval vessels in the Black Sea tried to enter the Kerch Strait to reach the Sea of Azov.

Yesterday, 12 of them were sentenced to months in custody.

Today, nine more were jailed, while a pre-trial restrictions for three remaining sailors are not defined as they had been injured during the clash, hospitalized and could not be produced before the court.

Russia and Ukraine have been at loggerheads since 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea after a controversial referendum.

Turkey, as well as the UN General Assembly, viewed the annexation as illegal.

Ukraine has also blamed Kremlin for separatist violence in eastern Ukraine, near the border with Russia.