Impending escalation: Kiev wants to continue martial law against Moscow

Kiev, Moscow – Given the conflict with Russia in the sea of ​​Azov, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko wants to impose martial law and thus declare the state of emergency in his country for a short time . In a televised speech, the head of state pointed out that the move had become necessary due to a provocation prepared for a long time by Russia in the Kerch Strait.

Poroshenko: martial law from next Wednesday

Contrary to a first announcement, he said in his speech that martial law should come into force next Wednesday in 30 days, and not already this Monday. Parliament should decide that in the evening. The escalation of the situation has aroused the concern of the international community.

Over the weekend, Ukrainian navy patrol boats belonging to the Russian Coast Guard had banned pbadage through the Kerch Strait across the annexed Crimean Peninsula. One of the ships was hit. Later, the three Ukrainian ships were attacked. Several people were injured. The Russian FSB national intelligence services justified the blockade by a violation of the border. Kiev denies it.

The announcement made by Poroshenko about riots in parliament before the start of the parliamentary debate. Members of the Radical Party blocked the desk and asked for further discussions with the head of state before making a final decision. The three former presidents Leonid Kravchuk, Leonid Kuchma and Viktor Yushchenko have criticized the fact that the proclamation of martial law will not change the situation. "Are the risks justified? Does it help fight the aggressor?"

Poroshenko said that martial law will have no impact on the targeted presidential election scheduled for March 31. "No measures are planned to restrict the rights and freedoms of citizens or to introduce censorship," he said. Previously, a decree declared the state of war for 60 days and was to apply as of Monday afternoon.

Kremlin: targeted provocation of Kiev

Moscow stressed that the new incident could benefit Poroshenko during the election campaign. In polls, he is far behind former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko for weeks. "Western supporters of Kiev are there to motivate those who want to defeat the political profits of the war hysteria," said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. The Kremlin has therefore described Kiev's acts as deliberate provocation.

The conflict between the two neighboring countries has been in the news for five years. In 2013, mbad demonstrations led to the resignation of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych. The subsequent annexation of the Crimean peninsula by Russia and the ongoing war in eastern Ukraine have led to the most serious crisis between the West and Russia since the end of the cold war. In the East, soldiers and separatists supported by Moscow are bombarding each other daily. Up to now, more than 10,000 people have been killed in the conflict.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel stressed in a telephone conversation with Poroshenko that de-escalation and dialogue are now necessary. For this, they will engage, said government spokesman Steffen Seibert. At a meeting of political directors in the Norman format at the Foreign Office, Germany and France came together to take concrete steps to defuse the situation, as stated by the participants. The Normandy format includes representatives from Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine.

After the incident, Germany and seven other European countries have taken position behind Ukraine at the United Nations in the conflict in Russia. The group of current and future European members of the United Nations Security Council – with Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Poland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Belgium and Italy "issued a statement at the end of an emergency meeting held Monday in New York, where countries called for restraint and de-escalation and insisted on recognizing integrity." of Ukraine.

"Developments around the sea of ​​Azov are extremely worrying and we call on all concerned to be as restrained as possible," Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said during his visit to Spain. The State Department in Paris said it was "deeply concerned" by the ongoing incidents. EU Council President Donald Tusk condemned the use of force by Russia.

At the emergency meeting in New York, Russia called for Ukraine 's violation of Moscow' s sovereignty to be the subject of the meeting. However, this request was largely rejected by the 15-member panel, including the United States, Great Britain and France. Both Moscow and Kiev had previously requested the urgent convocation of the Council.

Council of Europe warns of escalation

The Council of Europe warned against escalation. "It is of utmost importance to avoid further escalation in the region," said Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland. The free pbadage of the ships was guaranteed by an agreement between Russia and Ukraine since 2004. This agreement must be respected, asked Jagland. Ukraine and Russia are member states of the Council of Europe.

A meeting of EU security ambbadadors ended after about 90 minutes without tangible results. It was to create a common situation picture, said the European circles. Discussions in the so-called Political and Security Committee (SPC) are expected to continue on Tuesday.

NATO also wanted to confront the conflict. At the request of the Ukrainian President, a special meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission was convened, announced the military alliance. According to information provided by NATO circles, it is above all a symbolic sign of support. The fact that NATO is directly involved in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia is currently considered excluded because Ukraine is not a member of the defense alliance. (APA / dpa)