Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of seeking to annex his entire country on Thursday, and warned that Ukraine's conflict with Russia could quickly spiral into a full-scale confrontation.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has sent a note to Russia urging it to release the Ukrainian sailors who were detained during the confrontation in the Sea of Azov. Poroshenko asked NATO members including Germany on Thursday to send naval vessels to the Sea of Azov to back his country in the standoff with Russia.
On Wednesday, Putin accused the Ukrainian president of orchestrating the crisis to make the situation more tense.
Ukrainian naval ships, which were recently seized by Russia's FSB security service, are seen anchored in a port in Kerch, Crimea, November 28, 2018. /VCG Photo
The sea-clash cast a shadow over the planned meeting between the U.S. and Russia presidents in the upcoming G20 summit in Argentina. The between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart may be canceled after this confrontation. Donald Trump said on Tuesday, however, that he was still awaiting a “full report” from his national security team about the incident.
Putin said he still hoped to meet Trump at the G20, while the Kremlin said the meeting was still being prepared and Washington had not informed Moscow it was off.
The European Union (EU) will next month consider further sanctions against Russia over the latest flare-up in the Ukraine conflict, the foreign minister of Austria, which holds the rotating EU presidency, said Tuesday.
Some of Ukraine's Western allies have also raised the possibility of imposing new sanctions on Russia over the episode, which could deliver a blow to the Russian economy.
Deputy Permanent Representative of France Anne Gueguen speaks to press on behalf of EU 8 after a UN Security Council meeting on situation in Ukraine at UN Headquarters in New York, the U.S., November 26, 2018. /VCG Photo
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed separately the recent tension in Kerch Strait with his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts on Wednesday, and expressed his concern and called on the two sides to resolve the confrontation via diplomacy.
The Ukrainian navy said Sunday that Russian forces fired on and seized three Ukrainian ships near the Kerch Strait, calling Russia's actions an "act of aggression".
Moscow said the three ships breached the Russian border and conducted dangerous maneuvers in spite of orders of vessels from the FSB and Russia's Black Sea Fleet.
(Cover Photo: Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko meets with servicemen as he visits the 169th training center "Desna" of the Ukrainian Army ground forces in Chernihiv Region, Ukraine, November 28, 2018. /VCG Photo)