Ceasefire is Needed. The Search for 16 Missing Sailors from the Boats “Sloviansk” and “Stanislav” Continues
In the spring of 2022, two Ukrainian military boats, Sloviansk and Stanislav, sank in the Black Sea as a result of Russian missile strikes. Some of the sailors were rescued. However, what happened to 16 more remains unknown.
After the tragedy, families of the missing crew members joined forces and founded the non-governmental organization “United by the Sea”. The relatives collected much information about the circumstances of destruction of the boats by themselves.
16 sailors missing: where are the service people from the sunken Sloviansk and Stanislav boats?
During this time, the organization filed appeals to all relevant government agencies and international organizations, as well as sent official requests to the aggressor country. However, what happened to the sailors still remains unknown. The relatives spoke about this at the press conference organized by the Media Initiative for Human Rights.
Only last month, a search group of the naval forces was able to examine the Stanislav boat, which sank near Zmiinyi Island and lies at a depth of about 20 meters. A body was found in the boat during this operation.
“It is not always possible to quickly identify a body that has been in water for a long time. Therefore, an examination is currently underway,” said Olena Bieliachkova, the coordinator of the MIHR responsible for communication with families of prisoners of war and missing persons.
Olena Bieliachkova, the coordinator of the MIHR responsible for communication with families of prisoners of war and missing persons
She says that it is necessary to examine the sunken boats as soon as possible since water negatively affects the ability to visually identify bodies.
According to Andrii Ursol, the Head of the Department for Psychological Support to the Navy Command Personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, ceasefire is needed to conduct such operation. However, it is impossible to reach such agreements with Russia.
“It is necessary to ensure safety to conduct such activities. Military confrontation with the Russian Federation and, accordingly, constant shelling from its side make it impossible to carry out such an operation. This issue can be resolved after our victory,” says Andrii Ursol.
Andrii Ursol, the Head of the Department for Psychological Support to the Navy Command Personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Nevertheless, the families of the missing sailors and human rights activists are looking for ways to solve this problem. They suggest involving third countries for this purpose.
“Our boats are no longer combat ships, so there is no risk for the Russian side. This is essentially a humanitarian mission so that the families could find answers to their questions. All we need is to raise the bodies, if any,” says Olesia Aulina, the Head of the NGO “United by the Sea” and the wife of Damir Aulin, the missing commander of the Sloviansk patrol boat.
She noted that a trilateral agreement had been concluded last year between three NATO countries – Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria – to clear mines in the Black Sea. Olesia Aulina believes that the agreement can be used so that representatives of these countries could help achieve ceasefire needed for examination of the boats.
Olesia Aulina, the Head of the NGO “United by the Sea” and the wife of Damir Aulin, the missing commander of the Sloviansk patrol boat
“Our country also forged a maritime coalition with Great Britain and Norway. We believe that it is possible to use these agreements to solve the problem of examining the boats,” Olesia Aulina said.
At the same time, active efforts are currently made to find the missing sailors among servicepersons held in captivity. Olena Bieliachkova said that MIHR monitoring efforts had not produced any results, but this does not mean anything.
“We understand that Russia is not a country that will confirm captivity of every soldier. In each exchange, there are approximately 25% of those who were listed as missing, that is, about whom there was absolutely no information that a person was held in captivity,” she said.
“Officially, we have not moved a single step closer to solving the problem over these two years. Our guys are currently considered to be missing. We don’t know what other organizations we should contact in order to influence Russia. We just ask for confirmation that they are held in captivity,” says Tetiana Sherishorina, mother of Nikita Sherishorin, the missing sailor of the patrol boat “Sloviansk”.
Tetiana Sherishorina, mother of Nikita Sherishorin, the missing sailor of the patrol boat “Sloviansk”
Click here to see the full version of the press conference.
