Statements by three captured Ukrainians have been released by Russia’s security service after Russian ships fired on and seized three Ukrainian boats off the coast of Russian-annexed Crimea.
One of the men, Volodymyr Lisovyi, said he was aware of the “provocative nature” of the Ukrainian action.
Ukraine’s navy commander said the men had been forced to lie under duress.
Meanwhile, a Crimean court ordered that 12 of the 24 Ukrainians seized on Sunday be detained for 60 days.
The court is expected to issue rulings for the remaining servicemen on Wednesday.
Western nations have condemned Russia’s use of force, four years after it seized Ukraine’s southern Crimean peninsula.
The flare-up is the first outright clash between Ukraine and Russian forces for years, although pro-Russian separatists and Russian military “volunteers” have been fighting Ukraine’s army in two eastern regions.
