Ukraine: Russia opened fire, seized ships near Crimea

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Europe

01:47

Russia has reopened the Kerch Strait near Crimea to shipping after it seized three Ukrainian naval ships nearby, the RIA news agency cited a port official as saying on Monday.

Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said early on Monday its border patrol boats had seized two small Ukrainian armoured artillery vessels and a tug boat after opening fire on them and wounding several sailors.

The FSB said it had been forced to act because the ships had illegally entered its territorial waters.

Three Ukrainian sailors had been wounded in the incident and were getting medical care. Their lives were not in danger, said the statement.

Ukraine denied its ships had done anything wrong and accused Russia of military aggression.

Ukraine's foreign ministry said it considered "these aggressive actions" a violation of international law that would be met with "an international and diplomatic legal response."

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko chairs a meeting with members of the National Security Council in Kiev, Ukraine, November 26, 2018. /VCG Photo

Crimean leader Sergei Aksyonov wrote on Facebook that he "was sure the western masters of the Kiev regime are behind this act of provocation."

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko held a meeting with his top military and security chiefs amid talks of imposing martial law.

The crisis began earlier on Sunday after Russia stopped the three Ukrainian ships from entering the Azov Sea by placing a cargo ship beneath the bridge, Reuters reported.

Russian fighter jets fly over a bridge connecting the Russian mainland with the Crimean Peninsula in the Black Sea, November 25, 2018. /VCG Photo

Witnesses said Russia backed its blockade with at least two Sukhoi Su-25 warplanes. Russian state TV said Russian combat helicopters had been deployed in the area.

The European Union in a statement said it expected Russia to restore freedom of passage via the Kerch Strait and urged both sides to act with utmost restraint to de-escalate the situation. A NATO spokesperson has also issued a similar appeal to both sides.

(Top image: Russian fighter jets fly over a bridge connecting the Russian mainland with the Crimean Peninsula as a cargo ship is parked beneath it in the Black Sea, November 25, 2018.)

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Source(s): AFP ,Reuters