Court Arrests 236 Planes and 55 Vessels Conducting Transportation Services to Crimea

The Prosecutor’s Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea exposed systematic violations of the rules of international flights and navigation in the territory of the temporarily occupied peninsula.

As a result, the court arrested 12 planes of the Russian air carrier that were carrying passengers from/to the closed checkpoint “Simferopol-avia” and four ships that entered the closed ports and terminals of the Crimean peninsula.

In particular, it was established that the Russian carrier illegally used 12 Boeing and Embraer passenger planes to illegally transport people across the state border of Ukraine. Moreover, at least 37 Russian airlines operate regular flights to the Autonomous Republic of Crimea in violation of the law.

In total, 236 aircraft and 55 vessels have already been arrested for violating international law and Ukrainian law.

Since July 2014, Ukraine has officially ceased handling all ports of the occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol; the harbours of the peninsula are closed to international shipping.

Thanks to the cooperation and joint efforts of the Prosecutor’s Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, government agencies, and NGOs, there has been a significant decrease in the number of foreign vessels entering the closed ports of Crimea in recent years. In addition, foreign ships of the leading maritime powers do not enter the closed harbours of the peninsula. Instead, ships under the flag of Russia – sometimes Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, i.e,. countries with which there is no international cooperation in this area – violate the law.

Natalia Tolub