CLASH OFF CRIMEA
Russia ‘fires to kill’ as 3 Ukraine ships seized
Tensions over Crimea reached a boiling point Sunday as Russia fired on and then seized three Ukrainian ships off the peninsula in the Black Sea.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called an emergency meeting of his war Cabinet in response to the incident, which injured six Ukrainian crew members.
The Russians had “fired to kill” on the three ships before the vessels were captured, according to the Ukrainian navy.
Russia claimed Ukrainian ships had violated its waters and engaged in “dangerous maneuvers.”
The Kremlin said it used all necessary measures to stop the incursion. Earlier, Russia had cut off access to the strait “for security reasons.”
Poroshenko said that on Monday he would propose that parliament declare martial law in the country, which would restrict civil liberties and give state institutions greater power.
Nikki Haley, US ambassador to the United Nations, tweeted Sunday night: “An emergency Security Council meeting has been called for tomorrow at 11:00am.”
The scuffle was the latest episode surrounding the disputed territory of Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.
There has been growing unease in the region as Russia has steadily worked to increase its zone of control around the peninsula in southern Ukraine.
The hostilities began when Russia prevented the three Ukrainian vessels from passing beneath a Russian-controlled bridge in the Kerch Strait, which connects the Sea of Azov to the Black Sea.
Two Ukrainian artillery ships and a tugboat were subsequently fired on and seized, the Ukrainian navy said.
The Russian Federal Security Service, known as the FSB, confirmed early Monday that it fired on the vessels to force them to stop and then seized them.
The FSB said there was “irrefutable evidence that Kiev prepared and orchestrated provocations.” It vowed to make more information about the incident public.
Earlier in the day, the Ukrainian navy said Russia’s coast guard had rammed one of its tugboats in the Black Sea off Crimea in what it perceived as an “openly aggressive action.”
The statement from Ukraine said Russia had been informed in advance about the tugboat’s planned journey.
The European Union and NATO called for both sides to show restraint and for Moscow to restore passage to the strait.