Flashpoint looms as Ukraine warns Russia of plan to deploy naval vessels

UKRAINE’S DEFENCE ministry has warned Russia it will soon send navy ships through the Kerch Strait where Russia fired on and seized three Ukrainian vessels two weeks ago.

The announcement sets up another possible flashpoint in the long-simmering conflict between Russia and Ukraine that erupted in 2014 with Russia’s annexation of the Crimean peninsula. It once again burst into the open on November 25 when Russian border guards opened fire on three Ukrainian navy vessels that were moving through the Kerch Strait near Crimea and seized the ships and their crews.

Ukraine responded by introducing martial law for 30 days, a measure Kiev did not take even after Crimea’s annexation or amid the large-scale fighting between Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed separatists in 20142015.

As part of martial law, Ukraine has beefed up its forces on the border with Russia and called up reservists for training.

Ukrainian defence minister Stepan Poltorak told reporters on Friday that his country intends to send naval ships through the Kerch Strait soon, saying that “otherwise Russia will fully occupy the Sea of Azov”.

Ukraine has ports both on the Black Sea and on the Sea of Azov which are linked by the Kerch Strait.

More than 140 ships were stuck on both sides of the strait on Friday due to excessive checks and delays imposed on the Russian side, the Ukrainian Border Guard Service said.