MOSCOW (AP) — Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin says the Ukrainian seamen captured by Russia in Sunday’s incident off Russian-annexed peninsula of Crimea should be treated as prisoners of war.
Klimkin told reporters in Kiev that the government is in talks with the Red Cross to make sure the seamen are treated as prisoners of war.
Six Ukrainians were injured after Russian border guards opened fire on three Ukrainian military vessels in the Kerch Strait on Sunday. The vessels and the crews were captured by the Russians.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not say whether the Kremlin considers them prisoners of war.
Ukrainian protesters have burned a Russian flag and hurled flares at the Russian consulate in the eastern city of Kharkiv over the seizure of Ukrainian navy ships.
The Unian news agency reported that the protesters demanded Ukraine cut off diplomatic relations with Russia and nationalize Russian business on Ukrainian soil. They also said Ukraine should stop respecting a 2003 agreement with Russia on sharing the Kerch Strait between the Black Sea and Azov Sea that is at the core of the standoff.
In Kiev, protesters from far right party National Corps waved flares outside the Ukrainian parliament. They brandished yellow-and-blue flags with the Ukrainian national symbol, the trident, and a huge white banner reading “Don’t Back Down!”
As Ukraine mulls imposing martial law, National Corps protester Rodion Kudryashov said the measure shouldn’t last more than 30 days because it shouldn’t disrupt elections planned for March. He also said it should be accompanied by a “termination of relations” with Russia.
