The Russians attacked the tugboat "Sapphire" with drones; its crew had previously been tortured in Russia

Russian drones damaged the civilian rescue tugboat “Sapphire” in one of the ports in the Odesa region. According to preliminary reports, no one was injured.

According to the Ministry of Recovery, Infrastructure, and Transport of Ukraine,the vessel was clearly marked in accordance with the requirements of international maritime conventions; however, Russia committed yet another gross violation of international humanitarian and maritime law. 

The Ministry stated that all circumstances and evidence of the crime will be documented and forwarded to the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

The Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine announced that it has charged Alexei Gnipov, the head of “Pretrial Detention Center No. 2” in the Belgorod Region of the Russian Federation, with suspected war crimes.

According to the investigation, members of the crew of the civilian search-and-rescue vessel“Sapphire”—who were captured in February 2022 while en route to rescue military personnel from Zmiinyi Island—were detained in this detention center following the vessel’s seizure.

During their detention from March 14, 2022, to March 23, 2022, at Pretrial Detention Center No. 2 in the city of Stary Oskol, Belgorod Oblast, Russian Federation, from March 14, 2022, to March 23, 2022, unidentified individuals, with the knowledge and direct participation of the head of the detention center No. 2, Alexei Gnipov.

Юлія Калабайда