Some West States Possibly Knew of Kerch Strait Provocation in Advance – Moscow

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Western partners could have had prior knowledge of Ukraine’s Kerch Strait provocation or even took part in its preparation, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Wednesday.

"This is a deliberate provocation, of which, I have no doubt, some of our Western partners at least knew, or maybe even took part in the planning. All this is not accidental," Zakharova said while broadcast by Russia’s Channel One.

She added that this was proved by assessments made by Western politicians, and by the information campaign launched in the Western media.

READ MORE: Kerch Incident Resembles Deliberate Plan to Portray Kiev as Victim — Belgian MP

On Sunday, Ukraine's Berdyansk and Nikopol gunboats and the Yany Kapu tugboat crossed the Russian maritime border. According to Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), the vessels sailed toward the Kerch Strait, an entrance to the Sea of Azov, and were seized by Russia after failing to respond to a demand to stop.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier on Wednesday that the incident appeared to have been a provocation prepared in advance as well as a pretext to introduce martial law in Ukraine.