Move FM Global News

MOSCOW, Russia – In an incident on Sunday, that has triggered a dangerous new crisis between Russia and Ukraine, both the countries trade blame after Moscow allegedly used military force to fire on and seize three Ukrainian naval ships.

On Sunday morning, the Ukrainian navy accused Russia of “open aggressive actions” claiming that the country rammed one of its boats off the coast of Crimea.

According to Ukraine, its tug Yana Kapu suffered damage to its engine, guard rail and outer shell during the incident.

However, Russia accused Ukraine of “provocative actions” and said that Ukrainian ships illegally entered its waters, triggering its use of force.

Russia said that Ukraine’s Berdyansk and Nikopol gunboats, along with the Yani Kapu tugboat, tried to sail from the Black Sea port of Odessa to Mariupol in the Sea of Azov on Sunday morning.

Russia’s state security service, the FSB said in a statement that two Ukrainian warships – the Berdyansk and the Nikopol, and the tug – were trying “to create a conflict situation in this region.”

It said, “The ships illegally entered a temporarily closed area of Russian territorial waters.”

The Sea of Azov, which lies east of Crimea, and south of the Ukrainian regions that have been partially seized by pro-Russian separatists, is shared between the two countries.

Despite Ukraine’s claims that it had informed Russians of its plan to move its ships through the sea to Mariupol, Russia responded to the naval escalation on Sunday by blocking the Sea of Azov, triggering widespread regional tensions and an angry response from Ukraine. 

Overnight, Ukraine witnessed unrest in its capital city of Kiev, when about 150 people gathered outside the Russian embassy in Kiev and threw flares, while others torched a car belonging to the embassy.

Protesters said that they gathered outside the Russian embassy to express their anger and claimed that Ukraine should have “severed all diplomatic relations with this country a long time ago.”

On Monday morning, Ukraine announced that it is mulling the introduction of martial law over rising anger with Russia, that has been growing for months after the Crimea escalation.

Ukraine has alleged that Russian actions marked a breach of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Tensions between both the countries have grown in the aftermath of Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and its backing for a pro-Moscow insurgency in eastern Ukraine.

Ukraine’s parliament said that it would decide whether to bring in martial law. 

Further, Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council held an emergency meeting, with the country’s President Poroshenko describing the Russian actions as “unprovoked and crazy.”

He said that he would ask the parliament to introduce martial law.

However, he said that this did not mean a “declaration of war” and added, “Ukraine does not plan to fight anyone.”

Meanwhile, the UN Security Council announced that it would hold an emergency meeting as a result of the escalation.

The escalation also triggered international condemnation of Russia’s actions, with the NATO and the EU issuing statements calling on Russia to allow access to the Kerch strait and reduce the naval escalation.

In a statement, the EU said, “We expect Russia to restore freedom of passage at the Kerch strait and urge all to act with utmost restraint to de-escalate the situation immediately.”

The bloc added that Russia’s construction of the Kerch Bridge was a “violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

Meanwhile, the German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas tweeted on Monday, urging both sides to de-escalate the conflict.

Maas said that the Russian blockade of the Sea of Azov is “unacceptable” and “developments in Ukraine are worrying.”

Further, a NATO spokeswoman, Oana Lungescu, said that the organization called for “restraint and de-escalation” and supported Ukraine’s “navigational rights in its territorial waters.”

NATO said that it was demanding Russia “ensure unhindered access to Ukrainian ports in the Azov Sea in accordance with international law.”

Later on Monday, Russia said that it had reopened the Kerch Strait to shipping.