On November 25, 2018, Russian forces attacked Ukrainian Navy ships in the Kerch Strait and captured 24 crew members. The youngest among them was Andriy Eyder, 19, who was wounded in the attack. He and his fellow service members spent the next 286 days in Russian custody. On September 7, all the captured sailors returned to Ukraine in an exchange of prisoners. This writer met Mr. Eyder in his hometown of Odesa. Just two days before our conversation, he had returned from the port of Ochakiv, where he witnessed the arrival on November 21 of the three Ukrainian ships returned by Russia.
ODESA – A year after Russia’s attack on three Ukrainian naval vessels, seaman Andriy Eyder is still in recovery and will soon undergo more surgery.