Video footage of Russian Coast Guard ships ramming and firing on Ukrainian Naval vessels has surfaced.
The unprecedented incident took place on Sunday, when Russian forces fired on and then seized three Ukrainian Naval vessels in the Black Sea off the coast of Russia-controlled Crimea. Russia claims the Ukrainian vessels had “illegally” entered its waters and were engaging in “illegal” activities. Russia also captured and is holding 23 Ukrainian sailors, six of whom are said to be wounded.
What the footage here:
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Monday signed a decree introducing martial law in the country for 60 days, until Jan. 25, 2019. The decree must now be approved by Ukrainian Parliament in order to be in full effect, and Parliament is expected to debate the decree later on Monday.
VIDEO: Ukraine’s navy says six seamen were wounded when Russian coast guard vessels opened fire on three Ukrainian ships near the Kerch Strait and then seized them. The two nations blame each other. Video on Russian TV shows two ships colliding. https://t.co/wy1QeHoaED
— The Associated Press (@AP) November 26, 2018
Martial law is when a country imposes direct military control across normal functions of its government. This is often the response to a national disaster or major invasions. The last time Kyiv declared martial law was in 2014, when Russia seized and took control of the Crimean Peninsula in a war against eastern Ukraine, which is still being waged today.
The decree, also recommended by Ukraine’s security and defense committee, must now but submitted to Ukrainian Parliament and approved. A vote is expected later on Monday.
“We consider it as an act of aggression against our state and a very serious threat,” Poroshenko said in a statement on the President’s website. “Unfortunately, there are no “red lines” for the Russian Federation.”
“The use of weapons by the Russian Federation, the attack on the Ukrainian ships was unprovoked. It was, as the Chief of the General Staff has already said, a usual operation aimed to move the ships to the deployment sites Mariupol-Berdiansk. They did not have any special weapons, except for the service weapon, they had no special missions,” the President explained. “We have irrefutable evidence that this aggression, this attack on the Ukrainian Navy’s warships was not a mistake, not an accident, but a targeted action, including as regards the use of weapons against Ukrainian sailors, which had severe consequences.”
“In no way were the Ukrainian authorities and the Ukrainian military leadership informed about such a behavior by the Russian armed forces,” he added.
According to Russian news agencies, the Russian FSB claims it seized the three ships because they “illegally entered its territorial waters, attempted illegal actions, and ignored warnings to stop while maneuvering dangerously,” the Irish Times reported.
“Weapons were used with the aim of forcibly stopping the Ukrainian warships,” the FSB reportedly said in a statement. “As a result, all three Ukrainian naval vessels were seized in the Russian Federation’s territorial waters in the Black Sea.”
The FSB also reportedly said there were only three Ukrainian sailors wounded, but that their lives were not in danger.
Poroshenko has demanded that Russia release the Ukrainian sailors and ships, and says the sailors have been “brutally detained in violation of international law,” Radio Free Europe reported.
President Poroshenko also said Moscow should “ensure de-escalation of the situation in the Sea of Azov as a first step.”
He tweeted, “I appeal to the leadership of the Russian Federation demanding to immediately release the Ukrainian soldiers, who in violation of the international law, the brutal, detained and whose destiny is unknown. Ukraine needs to pass urgently to the Ukrainian side together with ships,” as translated.
