Ukraine puts military in charge over threat of attack from Russia
UKRAINE was under martial law last night over fears of a Russian attack after the Kremlin refused to release three vessels and their crews seized off Crimea.
The conflict is the most serious between the two nations since Russia annexed the disputed peninsula four years ago and backed pro-Russian separatists in east Ukraine.
The Ukrainian parliament in Kiev agreed to a proposal from president Petro Poroshenko to impose martial law in areas most vulnerable to an attack.
The vote came after Russia at the weekend fired on three Ukrainian navy vessels before seizing them and their crews
Hurled
off the Crimean coast. The naval skirmish sparked street demonstrations yesterday in Ukraine’s largest cities. Nationalists hurled flares and chanted “death to the Russian occupants” outside its embassy buildings in Kiev and Kharkiv.
The protesters took to the streets after the Kremlin ignored Western demands to release the three ships.
Up to six of the 24 crew members were injured as Russia fired on the two small military vessels and rammed a tug in the disputed Kerch Strait. President Poroshenko used a televised address to announce the crackdown, adding: “I fulfilled my constitutional duty.”
Foreign minister Pavlo Klimkin said: “These were planned acts of aggression. We will demand the immediate release of our sailors and the liberation of our ships.”
Prime Minister Theresa May led international outrage against Moscow, saying: “This incident provides further evidence of Russia’s destabilising behaviour in the region and its ongoing violation of Ukrainian territorial integrity.”
The naval incident unfolded on Sunday when the Ukrainian vessels were passing through the strait, which joins the Black Sea with the Sea of Azoy. While Ukraine says they were entitled to make the passage under maritime rules, Russia said they failed to obtain permission.
The Kremlin’s FSB security service were still holding the three vessels yesterday after opening a “criminal” case for illegal passage. NATO offered Ukraine its backing and the EU and France also condemned the Russian “aggression.”
The Russian foreign ministry blamed Kiev, saying: “It’s obvious that this painstakingly thought-through and planned provocation was aimed at igniting another source of tension.”