Volunteers of the InformNapalm international intelligence community have unfolded the flag of Ukraine on the summit of a mountain near in the Laspi Pass in Russian-occupied Crimea in support of the 24 Ukrainian sailors captured by Russian special forces off the coast of Crimea on November 25. "A member of the InformNapalm group climbed the mountain at the Laspi Pass in the Crimean mountains, unfolded the flag of Ukraine and read a patriotic poem by a modern Sevastopol poet written according to patterns of Taras Shevchenko's 'Zapovit' ('Testament')," the news outlet Krym.Realii quoted the Ukrainian QHA media agency. The video is also available on the Ukrainian Navy's official page on Facebook. The Laspi Pass is the highest point of the Sevastopol-Yalta highway.
On November 25, Russia blocked the passage to the Kerch Strait for the Ukrainian tugboat "Yany Kapu" and two armored naval boats "Berdyansk" and "Nikopol," which were on a scheduled re-deployment from the Black Sea port of Odesa to the Azov Sea port of Mariupol. The Ukraine Navy Command noted that the Russian side had been informed of the plans to re-deploy the vessels in advance in accordance with international standards to ensure the safety of navigation. The Russian coast guard ship "Don" rammed the Ukrainian tugboat, damaging the Ukrainian vessel. As the Ukrainian boats were heading back in the Odesa direction after being rejected passage via the Kerch Strait, Russian coast guards opened aimed fire on them. All 24 crew members on board were captured and later remanded in custody for two months, being charged with "illegal border crossing" (the sailors are facing up to six years in prison). Three crewmen were wounded in the attack. Russian-controlled "courts" in occupied Crimea ruled that all 24 detainees should be remanded in custody, after which they were transferred to the Moscow-based Lefortovo and Matrosskaya Tishina detention centers.
