The official representative of the European External Action Service (EEAS) said that he considers the imprisonment of Ukrainian film director Oleh Sentsov in Russia "a violation of international law and elementary standards of justice."

"Oleh Sentsov has shown incredible courage, determination and selflessness during his 145 days of hunger strike. His health has now deteriorated to a critical state. In refusing to provide him with appropriate medical treatment in an institutionalised medical setting, the authorities of the Russian Federation have violated his human rights as well as their own human rights commitments under international law, namely the European Court of Human Rights interim measure of 25 July this year," a communiqué says posted in Brussles on Sunday evening.

It says that the European Union stands in solidarity with Oleh Sentsov and, in addition to swift and appropriate medical treatment, expects his "immediate release."

In August 2015, the North Caucasus District Military Court sentenced Sentsov, who was detained in Crimea in 2014, to 20 years in a high-security penitentiary on counts of forming a terrorist group in Crimea.

Sentsov went on hunger strike on May 14, 2018, and demanded that all Ukrainians incarcerated in Russia be released.

Earlier on Friday, Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) Deputy Director Valery Maximenko said that Sentsov had stopped his hunger strike that began in mid-May.