The transfer of two dozen captured Ukrainian sailors from Crimea to Moscow has set the stage for the next phase of the Russia-Ukraine standoff, a high-profile show trial with inescapable geopolitical undertones.
Their three naval ships were fired upon and seized last Sunday as they sailed toward the Kerch Strait between Crimea and Russia, ratcheting up the crisis that began when Moscow annexed the peninsula in 2014.
Claiming Russia was gathering an invasion force on its borders, near areas controlled by Moscow-backed separatists in a four-year conflict, Ukraine this week declared martial law in 10 regions and banned Russian men aged 16-60 from entering the country.
The 24 sailors were moved…
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