BRUSSELS: NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called on Russia on Monday to release immediately all Ukrainian navy ships and sailors detained on Sunday in an attempt to enter the Kerch Strait, which connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.
"There is no justification for the use of military force against Ukrainian ships and naval personnel. So we call on Russia to release immediately the Ukrainian sailors and ships it ceased yesterday. And we call for calm and restraint," Stoltenberg said at a press point following a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission.
On Sunday, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said that three ships of the Ukrainian Navy crossed the Russian sea border, entered the temporarily closed area of the Russian territorial waters, and were moving from the Black Sea toward the Kerch Strait in violation of Articles 19 and 21 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
According to the FSB, the Ukrainian vessels did not react to legal demands of the Russian coastal guard ships accompanying them and made dangerous maneuvers.
They were detained after violating the Russian state border.