- Sputnik International
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

Ukrainian Vessels Threatened to Use Weapons if Approached by Russian Ships - FSB

© REUTERS / Ukrainian Navy handoutA screen shows a Russian border guard vessel Don stopping a Ukrainian Navy tug boat as three Ukrainian ships attempt to transit from the Black Sea port of Odessa via the Kerch Strait to Mariupol on the Sea of Azov, in the Black Sea in this handout picture taken November 25, 2018 and released by the Ukrainian Navy
A screen shows a Russian border guard vessel Don stopping a Ukrainian Navy tug boat as three Ukrainian ships attempt to transit from the Black Sea port of Odessa via the Kerch Strait to Mariupol on the Sea of Azov, in the Black Sea in this handout picture taken November 25, 2018 and released by the Ukrainian Navy - Sputnik International
Subscribe
Kiev and Moscow have been embroiled in a naval standoff for the past two weeks. Three Ukrainian Navy vessels were seized on November 25 after violating Russia's maritime border.

Ukrainian boats had attempted a provocation in the Sea of Azov a month before the Kerch Strait incident, according to a senior Russian naval official.

Two Ukrainian armoured gunboats, the Lubna and the Kremenchug, escorted a vessel carrying a Bulgarian flag from the Ukrainian port of Mariupol through the Kerch Strait, Vice Admiral Aleksei Volsky, first deputy head of Russia's FSB coast guards, told a briefing in Moscow on Saturday.

He went on to say that during the operation, the Ukrainian vessels threatened to use force against Russian coastguard ships and set their weapons on standby.

Volsky underlined that there had been no reports about Russian ships threatening Ukrainian gunboats and warships. There is "no doubt" that the construction of the Kerch Bridge (between Crimea and Krasnodar region) was the target of Ukraine's main provocations, he added, citing repeated claims from Kiev officials that the bridge should be destroyed.

A view of the new bridge across the Kerch Strait linking Russia's Taman Peninsula with Crimea, after regular traffic began, in Kerch, Crimea, Wednesday, May 16, 2018. - Sputnik International
World
EU Members Lack Common Position on Sanctions Over Kerch Strait Incident - Source

Three Ukrainian Navy vessels — two gunboats and a tugboat — were seized on November 25 after violating Russian waters and sailing through the Kerch Strait, the entrance to the Sea of Azov. The ships failed to respond to demands to stop and made dangerous manoeuvres, the FSB said. A court in Simferopol issued a decision ordering that all of the 24 Ukrainian servicemen captured in the incident, including two SBU officers, be held in custody for two months.

Ukraine, in response to the seizure, introduced martial law for 30 days in the regions of the country bordering Russia, the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. Additionally, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko announced that Ukraine would ban Russian males aged 16-60 from entering the country.

Russian President Vladimir Putin described the manoeuvres as a "provocation" that was likely intended as a pretext to introduce martial law in Ukraine and boost Poroshenko's low approval ratings ahead of the March 2019 presidential vote. Kiev claims that the operation was meant to demonstrate the capabilities of Ukrainian vessels.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала