Russia jails Ukrainian sailors captured in clash near Crimea

MOSCOW — A Russian court in the disputed Crimea region on Tuesday jailed 12 of the 24 sailors from Ukrainian naval vessels who were captured by Russia’s coast guard in a clash at the weekend.

The court in the city of Simferopol remanded the sailors to custody for two months pending trial on a charge of crossing the border illegally with a threat of violence, the Russian news agency Interfax reported.

The charge is punishable by up to six years in prison. The other 12 captured personnel were expected to go to court in the near future.

The weekend escalation between the warring neighbors sent shock waves through the international community, prompting emergency talks by the U.N. Security Council, NATO and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which monitors the deadly conflict near Ukraine’s border with Russia.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for Russia and Ukraine to exercise “maximum restraint” and resolve the flare-up in tensions “through all available peaceful means,” according to a statement released by his office.

Russia has suggested that the issue will be resolved without direct communication between the countries’ leaderships. Russia’s top diplomat told reporters Tuesday that no intermediaries would be necessary.

The Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin was not intending to speak with his Ukrainian counterpart, Petro Poroshenko, about the incident.

Russia has denounced the incident as a ploy by Poroshenko to delay Ukraine’s March presidential election, in which he does not appear to be a front-runner.

The Kremlin warned that the conflict in eastern Ukraine, waged by pro-Russian separatists and the Ukrainian military for the past four years, could escalate as a result of Sunday’s incident.

Ukrainian lawmakers have approved a decree from Poroshenko to declare martial law in the area of Ukraine bordering Russia and the Black Sea coast for 30 days.