On the territory of the Mariupol Commercial Sea Port, the Russian military took hostage the crew members of another vessel - a dry cargo ship BLUE STAR-1 flying the flag of Liberia, Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Liudmyla Denisova said.

According to her, some 18 sailors, who are citizens of Ukraine, were taken to the territory of temporarily occupied Donetsk.

The dry cargo ship entered the port of Mariupol at the end of February and was blocked by the Russian military. Communication with the crew was lost on March 25, 2022. It is known that for lack of food the crew was forced to switch to two meals a day.

According to preliminary information, which the ombudsman has, about 200 crew members of several ships blocked by the occupiers in the port of Mariupol may be in captivity of the invaders.

"By such actions, Russia violates the right to life and liberty, personal integrity, guaranteed by Articles 3 and 5 of the 1950 Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and the right to freedom of movement, guaranteed by Article 2 of Protocol No. 4 to the Convention," Denisova said in a statement.

A day earlier, the Commissioner for Human Rights said that on the territory of the Mariupol Commercial Sea Port, Russian invaders seized and took away in an unknown direction the crew of the SMARTA vessel flying the flag of Liberia. 18 crew members were also citizens of Ukraine, one citizen of Egypt.