Ukraine's Deputy Foreign Minister on European Integration Olena Zerkal has said the case of immunities of Ukrainian ships and sailors captured by Russia, in fact, will be considered a separate arbitration. She said the process could be lengthy.

"In fact, the case will not be considered in this court (International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea). A separate arbitration will be created on the basis of Annex 7 to the Convention (UN Convention on the Law of the Sea). This will last for years," Zerkal told journalists in Hamburg on Saturday.

Zerkal said the Tribunal's decision is a significant victory for Ukraine.

"The main thing that we have received today is the question of the release of our seamen, our ships, and the fact that the Tribunal has recognized that they have jurisdiction, that the Tribunal has recognized that Russia's warning about military activity does not apply and that there is immediacy to ensure that this decision is made," she said.

She said Russia must complete criminal cases and release the sailors.

"How they will do it is not a question of the Tribunal. The Tribunal does not give Russia any instructions on how to do it. This is a very reasonable and wise decision," Zerkal said.