Border closed to all Russian men under 60 by Ukraine

Ukraine’s president has said Russian men between 16 and 60 have been barred from travelling to the country.

The move comes as the longsimmering conflict between the two nations escalated in the Black Sea on Sunday.

Russian border guards opened fire on and captured three Ukrainian vessels and their 24-member crew.

Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko tweeted that the restrictions on Russian travellers have been taken in order to prevent Russians from forming “private armies” fighting on Ukrainian soil.

On Monday, the Ukrainian parliament adopted the president’s motion to impose martial law in the country for 30 days in the wake of the naval stand-off near the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow annexed in 2014.

The Ukrainian vessels had been trying to pass through the Kerch Strait on their way to the Sea of Azov.

The announcement follows Thursday’s decision by US president Donald Trump to scrap the much-anticipated meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Mr Trump said it was not appropriate for him to meet Mr Putin since Russia has not released the Ukrainian seamen.

A Russian government-appointed ombudsman for Crimea told Russian news agencies that all the seamen have been transported from a detention centre in Crimea.

The three commanders have been taken to Moscow, she said.

A Crimea court earlier this week ruled to keep the Ukrainian seamen behind bars for two months pending the investigation.

The Ukrainian vessels had been trying to pass through