Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko yesterday demanded that Russia immediately release Ukrainian sailors and ships seized in a standoff around Crimea that sharply escalated tensions between the two nations and drew international concern.
The two neighbors have been locked in a tense tug-of-war since Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea, but the incident late on Sunday in which Russian coast guard ships fired on Ukrainian navy vessels near the Kerch Strait directly pitted the two militaries, placing them on the verge of an open conflict.
The Ukrainian navy said that six of its seamen were wounded when the Russian coast guard opened fire on three Ukrainian ships near the Kerch Strait and then seized them.
Photo: Reuters
Russia said that three Ukrainian sailors were lightly injured and given medical assistance.
Poroshenko chaired an emergency Cabinet meeting and asked parliament to vote to impose martial law in response to what he described as Russian aggression.
“We consider it as an act of aggression against our state and a very serious threat,” he said. “Unfortunately, there are no ‘red lines’ for the Russian federation.”
Photo: EPA
Martial law could entail a variety of measures, including closing the borders, imposing restrictions on foreigners entering the country, a ban on gun sales and any political gatherings and rallies, and even closing down media outlets if they are deemed a threat to national security.
An emergency meeting of the UN Security Council was also called for yesterday.
The EU and NATO called for restraint on both sides.
Poroshenko had a phone call with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg to discuss the situation. NATO later said that at Poroshenko’s request, its ambassadors and Ukraine’s envoy were to hold emergency talks in Brussels later yesterday.
NATO said that Stoltenberg expressed the alliance’s “full support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, including its full navigational rights in its territorial waters under international law.”
EU President Donald Tusk condemned Russian use of force in the clashes with Ukrainian ships.
“I condemn Russian use of force in Azov Sea. Russian authorities must return Ukrainian sailors, vessels & refrain from further provocations,” Tusk tweeted, adding: “Europe will stay united in support of Ukraine.”
The EU’s Political and Security Committee, which groups ambassadors from the 28 member states, was to meet yesterday for talks on the crisis.
Russia and Ukraine have traded blame over the incident.
Kiev said its vessels were heading to the Sea of Azov in line with international maritime rules, while Russia charged that they had failed to obtain permission to pass through the Kerch Strait separating Crimea from Russia.
The narrow strait is the only passage between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. It is spanned by a 19km bridge that Russia completed this year.
While a 2003 treaty designates the Kerch Strait and Sea of Azov as shared territorial waters, Russia has sought to assert greater control over the passage since the annexation of Crimea.
Accusing Ukraine of provoking the crisis, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Minister Sergei Lavrov said: “There is no doubt that it was done by blessing or, perhaps, even a direct order from the top.”
“While planning that provocation, Ukraine had undoubtedly hoped to get additional benefits from the situation, expecting the US and Europe to blindly take the provocateurs’ side,” he added.
Additional reporting by AFP
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