Russia fires on and seizes Ukrainian naval ships, crew, in Black Sea standoff

Russia fires on Ukrainian ships
(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/CNN)

On Monday, Russia acknowledged that its coast guard had opened fire on three Ukrainian vessels Sunday and seized the ships and their crews during an incident near the Kerch Strait, a narrow waterway connecting the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov. The same three Ukrainian naval vessels — two gunboats and a tugboat — had been involved in a separate incident Sunday in which Russia's coast guard tried to intercept the ships and rammed the tugboat. Russia says Ukraine's vessels were making an unauthorized trip through Russian waters in a deliberate provocation; Ukraine denied any territorial incursion and accused Russia of military aggression.

The Kerch Strait runs between Russia and Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula Russia annexed in 2014. Russia recently built a bridge spanning the strait, connecting Crimea to the Russian mainland. The new standoff threatens to dangerously inflame simmering tensions between the two countries, and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said early Monday he would ask parliament to consider authorizing martial law over the incident. You can see footage of the Russian ship ramming the Ukrainian tug, plus a map of the area, in this CNN clip.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.