Volker spoke about the situation with the release of Ukrainian sailors from Russia's captivity

Volker stressed that Russian troops are required to immediately release sailors UNIAN photo

Special Representative The US State Department for Ukraine, Kurt Volcker, spoke about the situation surrounding the release of 24 prisoners of war. Ukrainian sailors seized by Russia as a result of an open attack using weapons for defeat on 25 November.

Volker said, "Unfortunately, I do not have good news to tell you." "I would have hoped that Russia could do it before Christmas, as a sign of goodwill, but nothing currently suggests that Russia can do it," Volker said.

"Many people, including the United States, including with German Chancellor Merkel, other politicians of the (European) continent have urged Russia to immediately release these sailors." And Chancellor Merkel raised this question during a phone conversation with President Putin last week.The fact is that Russia said "no." She argues that there is some kind of legal procedure, but that can not to be, by definition, because the seafarers remain illegal, but the Russians say that this process will take months, so unfortunately the situation does not look good, the only thing that forces the Ukrainians to make sure that everything the world – and the United States, NATO and Western Europe – is calling on all Russia to immediately release sailors, "said Kurt Volker.

As the UNIAN report on November 25, the Russian security forces near the Kerch Strait were opened fire of the three Ukrainian ships which, after an unsuccessful attempt to pass peacefully from the Black Sea to the sea of Azov (Russia physically blocked the navigation channel deployed on the cargo ship), returned to Odessa, captured them by force and captured 24 Ukrainian sailors, from among them were wounded.