Russia threatens ‘consequences’ after Ukraine seizes tanker amid high tensions over prisoner swap
- The Neyma was stopped as it entered the port of Izmail in the southern Odessa region
Ukraine on Thursday seized a Russian tanker it said was used in a naval confrontation last November amid sensitive prisoner swap talks between the two countries who have been at loggerheads since 2014.
Kiev’s SBU security service said it stopped the tanker, the Neyma, as it entered the port of Izmail in the southern Odessa region. Investigators seized documents on board and questioned crew members, an SBU statement said.
Moscow responded by threatening Kiev with unspecified “consequences” although it later confirmed the tanker crew had been released without charge.
The move comes two weeks after Ukraine’s new leader Volodymyr Zelensky and Russia’s Vladimir Putin discussed a possible prisoner swap during their first phone call.
The former Soviet neighbours have been caught up in hostilities since 2014 when Moscow annexed Crimea and supported an insurgency in eastern Ukraine. Some 13,000 people have been killed in the conflict.
