Russia starts prosecuting Ukrainians after sea clash

KIEV, U K R AIN E » Russia on Tuesday began prosecuting the crew of Ukrainian navy vessels captured over the weekend in a confrontation off Crimea, putting some of the seamen on camera, where they confessed to intruding into Russian waters.

Ukraine demanded that Russia stop using “psychological and physical pressure” on the sailors, as tensions between the two neighbors escalated. Ukraine’s top diplomat called the men “prisoners of war,” telling The Associated Press that displaying them on TV was a crime.

Russia and Ukraine have blamed each other for Sunday’s clash in the Kerch Strait, which links the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. The incident has drawn strong criticism of Russia by the United States and its allies.

Ukraine’s parliament adopted a motion by President Petro Poroshenko to impose martial law for 30 days in parts of the country — a measure that Kiev avoided even when Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014 or sent clandestine troops and weapons to separatists in eastern Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned the move could cause hostilities to flare up in eastern Ukraine. “The introduction of martial law could potentially raise the threat of escalation of tensions in the region of conflict,” he told reporters.

In Sunday’s confrontation, Ukraine sent three small naval vessels from their Black Sea base in Odessa to Berdyansk on the Sea of Azov. The Russian coast guard blocked their way near the Kerch Strait and at one point rammed one of the Ukrainian vessels to keep it from passing through the narrow waterway. The ships had spent tense hours maneuvering until the Russians opened fire and seized the Ukrainian vessels and crew.

The Ukrainian navy said that six of its seamen were wounded, while Russia said that three Ukrainian crewmen were slightly injured. Ukraine said 24 of its sailors were taken into custody.