A Moscow court's decision to extend the arrest of 24 Ukrainian sailors is another violation of international law and further aggravates the dispute between Russia and Ukraine, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on July 17.

"On May 25, 2019, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea ("ITLOS") ordered the immediate and unconditional release of the three Ukrainian naval vessels and the twenty-four servicemen on board. Russia's failure to immediately release the vessels and the servicemen constitutes a brazen violation of this Order. Today's order by the Lefortovo court compounds and extends Russia's violations of international law and further aggravates the dispute between Russia and Ukraine," the statement read.

The ministry emphasized that as was recognized in the May 25 Order of the ITLOS, "the continued deprivation of liberty and freedom of Ukraine's servicemen" interferes with Ukraine's sovereignty and its international legal rights, and also raises urgent humanitarian concerns.

The ministry thanked international partners for their solidarity with Ukraine in its fight for the liberation of Ukrainian servicemen and naval vessels.

Moscow's Lefortovo Court on July 17 extended the arrest of all 24 Ukrainian prisoners of war sailors for three months.

On November 25, 2018, Russian border guards fired on and seized three Ukrainian Navy ships, in particular the Berdiansk, the Nikopol, and the Yany Kapu, heading from Odesa to Mariupol, near the Kerch Strait. In addition, their crewmembers, 24 Ukrainian sailors, were captured. Three of them were wounded.

A Russian-controlled court in Russia-occupied Crimea arrested all the detained Ukrainian sailors on charges of allegedly illegal border crossing. They are held in a remand prison in Moscow now.

On May 25, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea ordered Russia to immediately release Ukrainian military ships and return them to the custody of Ukraine and to immediately release 24 captured sailors.

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