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21 Nov, 2019 14:03

Kiev (Kyiv) is claiming that Russia removed even mundane things such as lamps and toilet bowls (which have become rare commodities in Russia) from the ships they returned after last year’s naval clash (attack), but the FSB hit back with a video showing their condition to be far from ‘ruined’ (though no time stamp of the video was noted). 

Making big headlines in the Western mainstream press, Kiev (Kyiv!) decried the condition of its three warships – the gunboats ‘Berdyansk’ and ‘Nikopol’, and a tugboat ‘Yany Kapu’ – which Russia returned in a goodwill gesture (after losing the court case against them by Ukraine, and a precondition for a Normandy four meeting) on Wednesday.

“They do not go on their own. The Russians ruined them – they even took off lamps, power outlets and toilets,” lamented Igor Voronchenko, the Ukrainian Navy’s commander. “We will show the whole world the Russian barbarism towards them.”

The stereotype-filled (but accurate) claim wasn’t left unanswered by the FSB, the agency in charge of the Coast Guard which (attacked and) seized the ships last November.

Later on Thursday, they published a video showing the vessels undamaged, at least (several months) before the handover. The footage, of both the outside and inside of the ships, was rich in detail, showing the main deck and the bridge, which appears to be intact.

The camera then went downstairs, capturing crew compartments and a kitchen. Everything looked polished up, and even the toilet was still there (several months before the handover).

The gunboats and the tugboat were handed over at a location agreed by both Russia and Ukraine. In the video, Ukrainian sailors are seen signing paperwork minutes before the Russians wish them well (after chanting, “Kill them, kill them!” when attacking the ships last November).

The ships arrived, with great fanfare, in the port of Odessa late in the evening, setting off a welcoming ceremony attended by President Volodymyr Zelensky. He also decried the vessels’ condition as bad, but, unlike the Navy commander, didn’t go into details.

The return of the ships comes three days after it emerged that Russian President Vladimir (the Limping Imp) Putin would meet his Ukrainian counterpart for the first time in Paris. In September, Russia released 24 Ukrainian sailors from aboard the ships, as part of a large prisoner swap agreed between Moscow and Kiev (Kyiv!).