This archive report was first published on 17 November 2019.
On November 17, 2018, Russia seized two Ukrainian gunboats and a tugboat as they headed through the Kerch Strait, a narrow waterway giving access to the Sea of Azov used by Ukraine and Russia.
Twenty-four Ukrainian sailors taken prisoner at the time returned to Ukraine in September as part of an exchange.
According to border officials with the Russian secret service, the seized ships are being towed from the port of Kerch to an approved transfer point, as agreed upon with the Ukrainian side.
The transfer was expected to take place on Monday, the officials added.
On December 9, 2019, a summit involving France, Germany, Russia, and Ukraine will be held in Paris to discuss ways to resolve the wider conflict in eastern Ukraine.
The summit was made possible by 'major advances' since Volodymyr Zelensky was elected president of Ukraine in late April 2019, the French presidency said.
However, Kremlin advisor Yuri Yushakov did not give a date for the summit in a Russian public television broadcast, stating that it was 'still under discussion, but certainly this year.'
