Captain of Russian ship suspected of war crimes during capture of rescue crew near Zmiinyi Island

The investigation established that the Russian officer organized the detention of civilians in inhuman conditions – for this he faces criminal liability.

The Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine reported suspicion to the captain of the rescue and towing vessel of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, Stanislav Stavitskyi.

He is accused of cruel treatment of civilians and other violations of the laws and customs of war, which fall under the definition of a war crime.

These are the events of February 2022, when the Ukrainian civilian vessel “Sapphire”, which was carrying out a humanitarian mission to evacuate the wounded near Zmiinyi Island, was captured by the Russian military. There were 17 crew members and 4 civilians on board.

According to the investigation, the vessel was stopped by order of a Russian warship, after which the Russian military boarded it, used weapons, conducted a search and detained everyone present.

The suspect, captain of the ship “Shakhter” Stavitskyi, organized the illegal detention of four civilians in inhuman conditions: without food and water, in a suffocating room with constant psychological pressure. Among those detained were the rector of the church, a doctor, an electrician and a chaplain.

Later, all the prisoners were taken through the occupied Crimea to Russia. According to the victims, in the Belgorod region they were tortured: they were beaten with rifle butts on the head and body, forced to kneel in the snow. They were held captive until May 2022. They were released only as part of an exchange.

Stavitsky was charged under Part 2 of Article 28 and Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – for a war crime committed by a group of persons in a prior conspiracy.

Recently, USM wrote that the SBU detained a Russian agent who was preparing an attack on the Neptune anti-ship complexes.