The Russian military captured a priest of the Odessa Eparchy, Vasyl Vyrozub, reports The Spiritual Front of Ukraine media.
The report states that Vasyl Vyrozub was aboard the lifeboat “Sapphire”, which was sent to recover the bodies of Ukrainian soldiers killed on the Zmiinyy island. The rescue mission was coordinated with the occupiers.
However it was discovered that there were no bodies on the island. Russian soldiers used the situation as an excuse to lure the lifeboat without any weapons and capture it along with the civilian crew and the priest of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
At 6 p.m. on the 27th of February, the head of the Odessa Eparchy received a message from Vasyl Vyrozyb that the boat, crew, and the mission representatives were moving in an unknown direction under escort.
Vasyl Vyrozub is the archpriest of the Odessa Eparchy of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and the rector of the Holy Trinity Church in Odessa.
On 26 February, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine reported that the defenders of the Zmiinyy island might be alive. The State Border Guard Service cited Russian media, which had reported that the defenders were transported to Sevastopol, which is temporarily occupied by Russia.