On October 30, the epic of the crew of the Russian ship Nord, which was pirated by Ukrainians, almost ended. The sailors have finally returned home. Crimeans were exchanged for Ukrainians from the YaMK-0041 vessel at the Armyansk checkpoint, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“The Nord crew has been exchanged. Everyone except the captain,” NTV correspondent in Crimea Oleg Kryuchkov said on social networks, publishing a video of the freed sailors.
“Eight Ukrainian sailors and seven of ours took part in the exchange operation. The captains remain arrested for now because criminal cases have been opened,” Human Rights Commissioner in Crimea Lyudmila Lubina told Komsomolskaya Pravda-Crimea.
According to her, the Commissioner for Human Rights in Russia, Tatyana Moskalkova, came to the checkpoint specifically to carry out the exchange procedure. The European Ombudsman Nina Karpacheva has been on the peninsula for several days regarding this matter. The head of Crimea, Sergei Aksenov, also took part in the exchange procedure.
“Finally I’m in Crimea, I still can’t believe it. I'm incredibly happy. I’ve already called all my relatives and shared the good news that I’ll be home soon,” the publication quotes the assistant captain of “Nord” Yuri Savelyev.
“A huge collective work was carried out, for which I thank the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation Tatyana Nikolaevna Moskalkova, the Director of the FSB Alexander Vasilyevich Bortnikov, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergei Viktorovich Lavrov and everyone who took part in this process,” said Aksenov.
According to Aksenov, the released sailors brought the Russian flag with them to Crimea from the Nord ship.
The head of the Crimean government also promised that the authorities would try to get other members of the Nord crew, including its captain, out of the Ukrainian prison.
Let us recall that on March 25, the Crimean fishing vessel “Nord” under the Russian flag was detained by Ukrainian border guards in the Sea of Azov - 15 miles from the Obitochnaya Spit near Berdyansk. All 10 crew members are residents of Kerch with Russian passports. The captain in Ukraine faces criminal liability, the rest of the crew escaped with fines. Two fishermen managed to cross the border and return to their native Kerch.