Ukraine protests in the strongest terms the unlawful detention this morning by the Russian Federation of a Ukrainian fishing vessel and its crew in the vicinity of the Crimean coast.  

As the UN General Assembly has made clear, Russia’s unlawful aggression does not alter the status of Crimea as Ukraine’s sovereign territory.  Ukraine remains the coastal State with regard to the waters around Crimea, including the territorial sea extending 12 nautical miles from its coast.  

Russia’s detention of this fishing vessel usurps Ukraine’s sovereign rights in those waters and as such is a manifest violation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, as well as of customary international law.  

Ukraine demands the immediate release of the fishing vessel and its crew.