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The Ukrainian Navy said that Russian border guards had struck one of its tugs in the Black Sea off the Crimea, annexed by Moscow, as part of an "overtly aggressive action."
Ukraine said the incident occurred when three of its ships, including two small warships, were heading to the port of Mariupol, in the Azov Sea, a zone of increased tension between countries.
Russia accused Kiev of illegally entering its waters and deliberately provoking a conflict. He claimed the waters of Crimea after the annexation of the peninsula in 2014.
The Ukrainian Navy said that a Russian border guard vessel, the Don, had damaged the engine, outer casing and guardrail of one of its tugboats. He added that the vessels were continuing their journey. despite the measures taken by Russia ".
The Russian security service of the FSB, which supervises the border guards, said in a statement quoted by Russian news agencies that Ukrainian ships "illegally entered a temporarily closed area of Russian territorial waters". Ukrainian ships were conducting "provocative actions" and "their objective is clear: to create a situation of conflict in this region".
Ukraine has indicated, however, that it has warned Russia of the route taken by its ships. Its ships are obliged to take this road to reach the sea of Azov.
The latest incident came after the Ukrainian navy denounced in September "provocative acts" by Russian border guards against its ships on the same route.
The Ukraine has increased the number of naval vessels and border guard patrols in the Azov Sea, accessible via the Kerch Strait between Crimea and Russia.
Kiev claims that its shipbuilding is due to the intensification of controls by Russia in the region this year and to lengthy checks of commercial shipping.
Kiev and the West have accused Moscow of deliberately preventing ships from accessing Mariupol, which enjoys vital access to the region's heavy industry. Mariupol is close to the eastern region of Ukraine controlled by Russian-backed separatists in a conflict that has claimed at least 10,000 lives since 2014.
