Viktor Novitsky, the captain of a small Ukrainian vessel YaMK-041 who was detained together with his team near Crimea in early May on the suspicion of poaching and put to a detention center in Simferopol, has been released on his own recognizance, a source in the office of Crimean Human Rights Commissioner Lyudmila Lubina told Interfax on Friday.

"He was released at 8 p.m. yesterday. Viktor Novitsky was released on his own recognizance," the source said.

Two more Ukrainian fishermen detained in September for illegally crossing the border have also been released on their own recognizance.

"Nina Karpachova, a member of the Board of the European Ombudsman Institute based in Vienna, has solved the problem of financial support of the Ukrainians in the Crimean territory," the source said citing Lubina.

Lubina, Karpachova, and Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova visited the three Ukrainians earlier this week.

As reported earlier, seven crewmembers of MV Nord (port of registry Kerch), which was detained by Ukrainian border guards in the Sea of Azov in March, returned to Crimea on October 30. Simultaneously, seven crewmembers of Ukrainian fishing ships YaMK-0041 and YaOD-2105 detained by Russian border guards in May and August for poaching, left Crimea.

MV Nord captain Vladimir Gorbenko has been indicted and is staying in Ukraine.

Captain Novitsky was accused of poaching bio-resources in Crimea.

Two Ukrainians who illegally dropped an anchor in Crimea in September 2018 were detained by Russian border guards.