The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea will hear the case of the three Ukrainian Navy ships seized when Russia blocked entry to the Azov Sea with a tanker late last year.
The Hamburg-based, UN-backed body will hold hearings on 10 and 11 May, it announced Wednesday.
On 16 April, Ukraine asked the tribunal to step in, alleging Russia had violated the sovereign immunity afforded to navy ships and their crews under the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea when Russia detained the Berdyansk, the Nikopol, the Yani Kapu and two dozen servicemen 25 November.
Four days later, Ukrainian government accused Russia of effectively blockading two of its ports on the Azov by parking a tanker in the Kerch Strait — which connects the Azov and the Black Sea — and only letting ships headed to Russian ports through. The government said dozens of ships were either kept from calling on Ukrainian ports or passing through the strait.
Russia denied the allegations.
In 2014, Russia annexed Crimea, giving it control over both sides of the strait and territorial claims on the west, south and east shores of the Azov. When the trio of ships were seized, Russia reportedly claimed they were illegally entering Russian waters. Six months prior, Russia finished construction of a bridge over the Kerch Strait, connecting Crimea to the Russian mainland.
Ukraine is asking that criminal charges be dropped against the servicemen and that they be released along with the ships.
The men are being charged with "conspiracy by a group of persons or an organized group to illegally cross the border using violence or the threat to use violence" and could face up to six years in prison. They are currently being held in Moscow, awaiting trial.
According to the Kyiv Post, Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko awarded the 24 state decorations earlier this month, calling them "true knights, true worriers, true patriots and true professionals".
