There are 17 Ukrainian citizens on board detained tanker Marinera, - Stefanishyna

There are 17 crew members with Ukrainian citizenship on board the Russian oil tanker Marinera (Bella-1) detained by the United States.

This was reported by Ukraine's Ambassador to the United States Olha Stefanishyna, according to Censor.NET.

What is known

According to her, the Ukrainian Embassy is in constant contact with the American authorities and the State Department to ensure consular access to citizens.

There are no Ukrainian citizens on board the second tanker, M-Sophia, the ambassador added.

The Ukrainian Embassy in the United States told "EP" that Ukrainian diplomats are keeping the situation under control.

What preceded it?

Earlier it became known that on 7 January, the United States seized the Russian-flagged tanker Bella-1/Marinera in the North Atlantic. The tanker was sailing from Venezuela to Russia.
The Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed that Russian citizens were on board the tanker. They demanded that the United States ensure "humane and dignified treatment" of their citizens on the ship, respect their rights and interests, and not prevent the Russians from returning to their homeland from the ship as soon as possible.
In turn, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Russian media that US President Donald Trump, in response to Russia's appeal, had agreed to release two out of six Russian sailors. The US has not commented on this report.

Author: Olena Gulayeva