Ukrainian army on full combat alert over tensions with Russia in Sea of Azov

11/27/2018 - 11:34:07 AM

The Ukrainian armed forces were put on full combat alert over the situation in the Sea of Azov, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said Monday ( November 26) in a statement on Facebook.

The Ukrainian armed forces are put on full combat alert over the situation in the Sea of Azov. (Source: Armenpress)

Ukraine brought the units of its army into full combat readiness in line with the possibility of declaring a state of martial law in the country, the statement said.

Earlier the day, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko proposed parliament impose martial law in the country for 60 days over the tensions with Russia.

At an emergency meeting of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council, Poroshenko said the introduction of martial law does not mean that Ukraine will carry out any offensive actions.

On November 25, the Ukrainian Navy said that Russian forces opened fire and seized three Ukrainian ships near the Kerch Strait, which separates the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.

Six Ukrainian military sailors were wounded in the attack and two of them were in serious condition, the Ukrainian Navy said.

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said that three Ukrainian ships, namely Berdyansk, Nikopol and Yany Kapu, breached the Russian border and conducted dangerous maneuvers in spite of orders of the accompanying vessels from the FSB and Russia's Black Sea Fleet.

The Ukrainian Navy said it has informed Russia in advance about the passage of Ukrainian vessels from the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov through the Kerch Strait, calling Russia's actions an "act of aggression."

The Ukrainian parliament will decide whether to impose martial law in the country during its emergency meeting, which is set to start at 4 p.m. local time (1400 GMT) Monday.

Russia has warned Ukraine against attempts to revise the status of the Sea of Azov — in violation of international law — and urged Kiev to refrain from attempting to unilaterally establish new state borders.

Tensions around the Sea of Azov erupted this year after Ukraine detained a Russian vessel, prompting Moscow to boost controls in the area.

The tensions further escalated in October when the Ukrainian parliament passed a draft law authorising Kiev to expand maritime controls by 12 nautical miles off its southern coast, purportedly in an effort to counter smuggling in the Black Sea.

Source: NDO

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