Martial law in Ukraine to counter Russia fears
The Ukrainian parliament last night approved the president’s request to impose martial law following Russia’s capture of three ships in the Kerch Strait off Crimea. Petro Poroshenko, the president, accused Russia of a “new stage of aggression” and said martial law was necessary to defend Ukraine after he received intelligence about a possible Russian ground invasion. “Russia has been waging a hybrid war against our country for five years,” Mr Poroshenko said.
THE Ukrainian parliament last night approved the president’s request to impose martial law as he accused Russia of a “new stage of aggression” after it opened fire and captured three Ukrainian vessels and 24 crew members in the Kerch Strait near Crimea.
In a televised address to the nation, Petro Poroshenko said the action was necessary to defend Ukraine after he received intelligence about a possible Russian ground invasion.
Parliament yesterday agreed to his request for emergency wartime powers, including the ability to requisition private property and suspend elections for 30 days, beginning tomorrow at 9am. Parliament also confirmed that a presidential election scheduled for March would go ahead as planned.
“Russia has been waging a hybrid war against our country for five years,” said Mr Poroshenko. “But with an attack on Ukrainian military boats, it moved to a new stage of aggression.
“Reconnaissance data suggest an extremely serious threat of a land-based operation against Ukraine.”
Martial law will be applied in 10 of the country’s 27 regions – the areas considered most vulnerable to invasion. The move is controversial because martial law has never been imposed before, even during the height of the war in 2014.
Three former presidents of the country issued a statement opposing the move yesterday.
Russia, meanwhile, defied calls from Western countries to release the Ukrainian vessels and 24 crew members seized in the Sea of Azov on Sunday. The Nikol and the Berdyansk, two modern gunboats, and the Yana Kapu, a tug boat, were rammed, fired on and ultimately boarded by Russian special forces after they attempted to sail through the Strait of Kerch.
The vessels were en route from Odessa to Mariupol, a Ukrainian industrial and military port on the Azov Sea.
Russia temporarily blocked the passage with a tanker under the Kerch Bridge, which links Russia and Crimea, to prevent their passage.
The Kremlin said the Ukrainian vessels had not informed the border control of their plans and that coastguards opened fire after warning to stop “dangerous” manoeuvring in closed waters around Crimea.
Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. The FSB, Russia’s internal security service, said a criminal case had been opened. Ukrainian officials denied any wrongdoing by the crews and described Moscow’s actions as military aggression.
Tensions in the Sea of Azov have been mounting since Russia completed the bridge between its mainland and Crimea earlier this year.
Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, said the incident began when the Ukrainian ships illegally entered Russian waters and called it “a dangerous provocation” organised by Kiev.
Theresa May, the Prime Minister, said the incident was “further evidence of Russia’s destabilising behaviour in the region and its ongoing violation of Ukrainian territorial integrity”. Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, emphasised the need for de-escalation and dialogue and said she would work to help bring about both.
At an emergency mission of the UN security council, Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the UN, called Russia’s behaviour “arrogant” and a “violation” of international law, adding: “The US will continue to stand with the people of Ukraine against Russian aggression.”
In Kiev, protesters gathered outside the Russian embassy, setting tyres on fire and throwing smoke grenades. Nationalists also gathered outside the Russian consulate in Kharkiv.
The whereabouts of the 24 Ukrainian crewmen was unknown last night.
The FSB released images of the Ukrainian vessels docked in the Crimean port of Kerch yesterday morning. Sergey Aksenov, the head of Russian-annexed Crimea, said on Facebook that three crew injured members were provided with medical care and their lives were not in danger.