Ukrainian activists gathered on Monday in central Kiev to protest against the detention of Ukrainian navy officers by Russia after an incident in the Kerch Strait.
Holding posters bearing names and photographs of sailors and other Ukrainians detained in Russia, activists demanded their immediate release.
Russia seized three Ukrainian naval ships and their crews on November 25 after opening fire on them, accusing them of illegally entering its territorial waters, from the Black Sea to the Azov Sea via the Kerch Strait.
Under the Russian court's decision, the crew members will remain in jail at least until January 25, 2019. All three Ukrainian vessels are being held at the Black Sea peninsula's port of Kerch, off Crimea.
Ukraine denies any wrongdoing. Moscow is resisting international calls to release the Ukrainian sailors and vessels.
Autor: gf / Źródło: TVN24 International, Reuters