Russia ‘rams, fires on and seizes ships from Ukraine’

Blockade on the Black Sea

TENSIONS between Russia and Ukraine escalated dramatically last night with an armed skirmish on the Black Sea.

Russian ships were reported to have seized three Ukrainian navy vessels after firing on them, ramming a tug boat, and injuring several sailors.

It came after a day-long stand-off which saw a Ukrainian vessel rammed at speed by a Russian ship.

Russia had earlier prevented the three Ukrainian vessels from entering the Sea of Azov via the strategically important Kerch Strait by placing a massive cargo ship beneath a newly built, Russian-controlled bridge.

Carl Bildt, co-chairman of the European Council on Foreign Relations, described the blockade as a ‘clear breach of international law’.

The Russian vessels then opened fire, officials in Kiev claimed. Four years ago Moscow annexed Crimea from Ukraine, sparking international outrage.

Vladimir Yelchenko, Ukraine’s representative to the United Nations, last night said the country would ‘immediately appeal’ to the UN Security Council.

‘The defiant behaviour of an aggressor can be stopped only by joint coordinated efforts,’ he said.

A statement from the Ukrainian navy said: ‘According to the operational information, small armoured artillery boats Berdyansk and Nikopol were struck by the enemy’s fire and lost their course. [The ships were] seized by Russian special forces.’

The navy later said six sailors had been hurt. A third Ukrainian boat – the Yana Kapu tug – was rammed and also seized, according to reports. Since annexing Crimea, Moscow has built the Kerch Bridge across the Strait, tightening its grip on the territory and making it easier to hold up maritime traffic in the area.

Only last week, British defence secretary Gavin Williamson pledged to support ‘Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity’, saying survey vessel HMS Echo would be dispatched to the Black Sea next year.

A spokesman for Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko said the leader was convening an emergency meeting of the military’s top brass.

Earlier the Russian coastguard accused the three Ukrainian navy ships of making what it called an unauthorised crossing through ‘Russian territorial waters’.

Although a 2003 treaty designates the Kerch Strait and Sea of Azov as shared territorial waters, Russia has been asserting greater control over the passage since 2014.

Russia’s Federal Security Service, the FSB, said: ‘There is irrefutable evidence that Kiev prepared and orchestrated provocations.’

An EU statement urged Russia to ‘restore freedom of passage’ through the Kerch Strait.

‘Clear breach of international law’