Ukraine says Russia had no right to charge Ukrainian fisherman

The Ukrainian boat was outside the two-mile sea zone that Russia claims to be
its territorial waters when the vessel was spotted by the Russian coast guards,
Minister Olena Lukash said in a letter to her Russian counterpart, Alexander
Konovalov.

Four members of the Ukrainian boat’s crew of five died when the boat collided
with the guard vessel.

Lukash indicated what she claimed were the exact coordinates of the fishing
boat’s location when the Russians detected it, according to a statement from
Ukraine’ Justice Ministry.

She also said there is no existing agreement on economic zones in the Sea of
Azov.

“One of the main conditions for prosecution is the commission of a crime on
the territory of the prosecuting nation,” Lukash said in comments on the illegal
fishing charge brought against the Ukrainian sailor who survived the incident,
Oleksandr Fedorovych.

“On the basis of the aforementioned information, the incident cannot be
regarded as one that occurred within the territorial waters of the Russian
Federation or within the administrative boundaries of the border control of the
Russian Federation, in other words, as one that has occurred on the territory of
the Russian Federation. Consequently, no act that is punishable under criminal
law has been committed on the territory of the Russian Federation,” the minister
said.

She asked the Russian minister “to help achieve a legal resolution of
Fedorvych’s situation.”

The Ukrainian boat collided with the Russian coast guard boat off the coast
of the village of Vorontsovka at approximately 1800 on July 17. The fishing boat
capsized and four Ukrainian citizens died in the shipwreck. One was rescued. The
rescued Ukrainian fisherman, Fedorovych, had surgery on July 19.

The Russian guards allegedly fired shots at the sailors.