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Russia on Sunday arrested three Ukrainian ships and their crews, accusing them of illegal entries into Russian territorial waters, which Ukraine denies.
The episode was in full swing fears in the West for a wider conflict between the two countries and then Kiev enacted a military law in some parts of the country, expressing their fears of a possible Russian invasion.
In his first public statement on the incident, the President of Russia said that Ukrainian ships have clearly unfair, described the incident as a minor case at the border and blamed the President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, for having orchestrated the mini-crisis to boost its very low popularity.
"There is no doubt that it was a challenge," Putin said at an economic forum in Moscow.
"It was organized by the president in the run-up to the elections, the president is ranked fifth in popularity and so had something to do. It was used as a pretext to introduce military law".
"It was possible that Poroshenko did not go to the second round (…) That's why we had to do something. "
It's a "game to increase tension, a dishonest gambling inside the country put pressure on his political opponents, "said the Russian president.
6 pictures: Occupation of three Ukrainian ships from Russia to the Black Sea
– Source: REUTERS / Yevgeny Volokin
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6 pictures: Occupation of three Ukrainian ships from Russia to the Black Sea
– Source: REUTERS / Yevgeny Volokin
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6 pictures: Occupation of three Ukrainian ships from Russia to the Black Sea
– Source: REUTERS / Yevgeny Volokin
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6 pictures: Occupation of three Ukrainian ships from Russia to the Black Sea
– Source: REUTERS / Yevgeny Volokin
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6 pictures: Occupation of three Ukrainian ships from Russia to the Black Sea
– Source: REUTERS / Yevgeny Volokin
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6 pictures: Occupation of three Ukrainian ships from Russia to the Black Sea
– Source: REUTERS / Pavel Rebrov
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Russian forces have fulfilled their "military duty"
The Russian coastguards accomplished Sunday "his military duty" occupying three Ukrainian warships off the Crimea, said Vladimir Putin about this incident that has aggravated tensions in the relations between Moscow and Kiev.
"They have fulfilled their military duty with precision" said the head of the Russian state. "What happened are these (the Ukrainians) have not responded to the demands of our border guards and they have entered our territorial waters," Putin said.
Poroshenko: The visible "threat" of a Russian invasion and the outbreak of a "totalitarian war"
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on Tuesday that his country is now facing the "threat" of the Russian military invasion and the outbreak of a "totalitarian war" with Russia, giving even more the tone to his already dramatic statements after the episode Sunday at Sea Azov.
Kiev denounced the "illegal" detention of its sailors from Moscow
Ukraine has finally denounced the "illegal" detention of its 24 sailors captured Sunday by Russia on their ships off the Crimea, an episode that increased the tension between Kiev and Moscow.
A statement of protest against "Russia's prosecution of its illegal actions", referring to the detention of these soldiers, was sent to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Ukrainian diplomacy said in a statement.
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