Israeli Navy's criminal attack on Gaza flotilla: Ukrainian team among detained crews. Release them all now!
The European Network for Solidarity with Ukraine (ENSU) has learned that the vessel carrying the Ukrainian team as part of the Sumud Global Flotilla 2026 was one of those illegally seized by the Israeli Navy early this morning.
According to an Al Jazeera report seven out of the 58 vessels were captured by Israel near Crete, over a thousand kilometres from the coast of Gaza.
ENSU coordinator Szymon Martys described the raid as "a blatant and cynical attack on unarmed vessels navigating peacefully in international waters”. He demanded the immediate release of the detained crews, which include the Ukrainian team of Nina Potarska and Andrii Movchan (pictured).
Martys said that ENSU, which is supporting the two Ukrainian peace and human rights activists, had no information as to their situation, but assumed that they, along with other crews, were being held illegally on an Israeli navy vessel.
"They must all be freed immediately", he added, and called on the Ukrainian government, along with the governments of all the kidnapped crews, to demand their immediate release. “ENSU also supports the demand that the Greek Coast Guard protect the flotilla, some of whose ships have had their engines disabled by the Israeli Navy.”
Martys commented that the Israeli's government's action--attacking the flotilla when it was over 600 nautical miles from Gaza and before public attention on its mission would be at a peak--betrayed its fear of the power of international solidarity with the Palestinian people.
"We in the Ukraine solidarity movement understand this truth", he added. "Powerful governments, like Netanyahu's and Putin's, although armed to the teeth, can be brought low by the mass mobilisation of all who stand for the rights of peoples. The Sumud Global Flotilla is symbol of popular indignation at the murderous violence of war and of people’s determination to stand with the oppressed."
The Ukrainian team had joined the Sumud Global Flotilla to help the humanitarian effort for the blockaded people of Gaza, towards whom they, as members of a nation also victim of brutal invasion, feel a special duty of solidarity.
ENSU is calling on the members of its network to organise actions demanding the immediate release of Nina Potarska and Andrii Movtxan. The first will take place in Barcelona at 19:00 CET this evening, in the Plaça de Sants.
Contacts: +48 607 799 939 (Szymon Martys)
Ukrainians join Global Sumud Flotilla Mission to Gaza
Ukrainian volunteers in the Global Sumud Flotilla Mission to Gaza say their participation is a call for humanitarian access, international accountability and solidarity against occupation
April 26, 2026—Two representatives of Ukrainian human rights activism have announced their participation in the international civilian mission to Gaza, joining volunteers from across the world in an effort to deliver humanitarian aid and challenge the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza.
In their video address to people who support Ukraine, the Ukrainian team says they are heading to Gaza as part of a broader movement of volunteers, doctors, teachers and human rights activists who are responding to what they describe as a total humanitarian catastrophe. The group states that the blockade has cut civilians off from essential goods, including food and medicine, and that urgent international action is needed to ensure safe humanitarian access.
“Our journey is not about geopolitics,” Nina Potarska says in the video statement. “We are here to remind the world that international law and human rights are universal principles.”
As representatives of a country that continues to resist Russian invasion, the Ukrainian representatives say they cannot remain silent in the face of Palestinian suffering. “As Ukrainians - representatives of a nation resisting aggression and occupation - we cannot stand aside. We cannot leave the Palestinian people alone,” Andrii Movchan points out.
Nina Potarska adds: “As a researcher of war and survival, I see in Gaza not an abstract crisis but a pattern: when civilians are cut off from food, water and care, everyday life collapses. UN data shows hundreds of thousands facing acute food insecurity. As Ukrainians, we understand how occupation affects civilian life — through control over infrastructure, mobility and access to basic necessities. This is not only a humanitarian emergency — it is a failure of civilian protection, one that demands political accountability.”
The Ukrainians say their participation in the flotilla is rooted in solidarity with civilians living under siege and in a belief that opposition to occupation, annexation and violations of international law must be applied consistently everywhere.
The Ukrainian team is calling on media outlets, civil society organizations, elected officials and supporters of Ukraine worldwide to pay attention to Gaza, and to defend the principle that international law must apply to all peoples.
“From Ukraine to Palestine, occupation is a crime,” the video statement concludes.
The broader Global Sumud Flotilla describes its Spring 2026 mission as a civilian-led international effort formed in response to calls from Palestinians in Gaza. According to the organization, the mission brings together participants from more than 70 countries and includes humanitarian, medical, and reconstruction-oriented volunteers.
Information about the participants
Nina Potarska is a Ukrainian sociologist, feminist political economy researcher, and director of the Center for Social and Labor Research (CSLR), as well as a member of the Global Women’s Alliance for Security Leadership (WASL). She worked for nearly a decade with the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), contributing to feminist peacebuilding, policy advocacy, and international dialogue initiatives.
Andrii Movchan is a Ukrainian left-wing activist, journalist and publicist, member of the European Network for Solidarity with Ukraine, member of the major Spanish trade union General Union of Workers (UGT), working and residing in Barcelona.
Media Contacts
Email: sumud_flotilla_ukraine@proton.
Telegram:t.me/resist_UAde
Instagram: instagram.com/resist_ua
April 30, 2026