Russia to return navy vessels seized from Ukraine

Three Ukrainian ships are to be returned almost a year after the Russian navy seized the vessels in the Kerch Strait.

Tug boats were seen towing the vessels through the strait, which separates Crimea from the Russian mainland, a photographer working for the Reuters news agency reported.

Separately, Russia's security service FSB said that the three vessels would be handed over to Ukraine on Monday.

The move was "in accordance with the agreements reached with the Ukrainian side," sources from FSB's Crimean branch told Russian news agency Interfax.

Trouble in Kerch Strait

Russia's military had captured one tugboat and two small artillery vessels last November after the Ukrainian crews tried to gain access to the Sea of Azov through the Kerch Strait. The strait is the only naval access point to two of Ukraine's biggest ports, Mariupol and Berdyansk. Russia accused the Ukrainian navy of trying to stage a "provocation" and illegally entering Russian territorial waters, while Ukraine describes the incident as an act of Russian aggression.

Russian troops opened fire during the incident and one of their vessels rammed a Ukrainian boat. Several Ukrainian crew members were injured. Russian authorities eventually arrested all 24 sailors and later put them on trial for "illegally crossing the border."

Sailors free, but still on trial

A United Nations tribunal ruled in May that Russia must release the sailors and ships.

The sailors were freed in a landmark prisoner swap this September, which also saw Russia sending filmmaker Oleg Sentsov back to Ukraine. However, the legal case against the Ukrainian sailors remains ongoing in Russia.

"After the return of the detained sailors and their ships to Ukraine, ending the case against the sailors should be a natural and reasonable ending for this entire story in Russia," the head of their legal team, Nikolai Polozov, said on his Facebook page.

Waiting for 'Normandy'

The return of the ships should serve as another trust-building measure between Moscow and Kyiv, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy pushes for a top-level meeting in the so-called Normandy format, with the presence of France and Germany.

While the relationship between Moscow and Kyiv remains tense, Zelenskiy's unexpected victory this April signaled a change in the long-running conflict.