Russian admiral says detention of Ukrainian ships lawful
MOSCOW. Nov 26 (Interfax-AVN) - The Ukrainian vessels detained by the Russian border guard will be held while an investigation takes place, Adm. Vladimir Komoyedov, a former commander of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, told Interfax on Monday.
"An investigation will be conducted first," Komoyedov said when asked about the future of the Ukrainian ships.
"They are violators. They have been lawfully detained as border violators," he said.
"There are rules that concern everyone, including warships. If you are told to stop in the territorial waters of another country, you have to stop. These are the rules of the game," Komoyedov said.
On Sunday, the border guard detained three Ukrainian ships that Russia believes attempted to act unlawfully within Russia's territorial waters. The Federal Security Service (FSB) said "weapons were used to force the Ukrainian warships to stop."