Russia withdraws from arbitration in the case of the capture of Ukrainian sailors in the Kerch Strait

Moscow has said it does not recognize the decision of the UN tribunal, which is considering Ukraine’s claim over the 2018 incident.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has announced its withdrawal from the arbitration process under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which concerns the seizure of three Ukrainian ships and 24 sailors in the Kerch Strait in November 2018. This is reported by “European Pravda”.

The Russians speak of alleged “gross procedural violations” and “illegitimate composition of the arbitration tribunal”. Moscow said that no decision of this process “will have legal force and will not be recognized by the Russian Federation”.

Back in 2024, Russia achieved the disqualification of two of the five arbitrators due to their participation in a declaration condemning the Kremlin’s actions. However, the new arbitrators were appointed without the participation of the Russian side, and Moscow accused them of “anti-Russian statements”.

As a reminder, Ukraine began the arbitration in April 2019. In November 2020, the tribunal divided the claim into two parts — regarding the detention of sailors and the seizure of ships. In July 2022, it confirmed its jurisdiction in the case.

Despite Moscow’s statements, the UN-sponsored arbitration will continue to consider Ukraine’s claim regarding the illegal seizure of Ukrainian military personnel and violation of international maritime law.

Earlier, USM reported that Russia is suing Syria over grain that it itself stole from Ukraine.