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MOSCOW (AP) – Russia and Ukraine have exchanged accusations about an incident at sea on Sunday near the Crimean peninsula, increasing tensions between the two countries and pushing Moscow to block the crossing into the Kerch Strait.
Russian coastguards said three Ukrainian navy ships had made an unauthorized crossing into Russian territorial waters, while Ukraine claimed that one of its boats had been beaten by a ship Russian coastguards.
The Kerch Strait is a narrow water nested between the Crimea and the Russian mainland.
The incident began after the Ukrainian Navy had claimed that one of the Russian coastguard had crashed into one of its tugboats, which was traveling with two Ukrainian navy artillery boats. Odessa on the Black Sea at Mariupol, in the sea of Azov, via the Kerch Strait.
"The Russian Coast Guard ships (…) have been carrying out overtly aggressive actions against Ukrainian navy ships," the statement said by the Ukrainian navy. A Russian coastguard vessel allegedly damaged the engine, hull, side railings and a tugboat lifeboat.
The statement added that Russia had been informed in advance of the planned trip.
Russia then blocked the strait. This decision comes after months of increasing tensions between Ukraine and Russia, which annexed Crimea to Ukraine in 2014 and has been regularly employed to expand its control zone around the peninsula .
The Kerch Strait is the only passage beyond the sea of Azov. The strait is crossed by the recently completed Kerch bridge, connecting the Crimea to Russia. The transit under the bridge was blocked by a tanker and dozens of cargo ships waiting to cross are blocked.
Russia has given no indication as to how long it would maintain the strait blocked, but a long-term closure of civilian traffic would be tantamount to an economic blockade of Ukrainian cities on the Azov coast. And the Russian Black Sea Fleet far surpasses the Ukrainian Navy.
The Ukrainian seaside towns of Azov include strategic centers, such as Mariupol, the nearest government-controlled city of Donetsk and Luhansk, the separatist regions of the east. Ukraine controlled by separatists backed by Russia.
The Russian Federal Security Service, known as the FSB, told Russian news agencies on Sunday that Ukrainian ships were still on their way and violating Russian territorial waters. The FSB accused the Ukrainian navy of provoking Russia.
"Their goal is clear," the FSB said in a statement – "creating a conflict situation in the region". The statement did not mention striking a Ukrainian tug.
Although a 2003 treaty designated the Kerch Strait and the Azov Sea as shared territorial waters, Russia claims increased control over this crossing since 2015.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Russia's actions constitute a violation of the US Charter and international law, and committed to "promptly inform our partners of Russia's aggressive actions" .
"Such acts pose a threat to the security of all states in the Black Sea region," the statement said, "and therefore require a clear response from the international community."
Dmitry Kiselyov, a commentator for the state-owned Rossiya TV channel, told viewers of his Sunday evening news program that Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko – encouraged by the United States – was trying to fight against Russia in the Black Sea.
The host of the show also said that the US had persuaded Poroshenko to organize a provocation against Russia to disrupt the upcoming meeting between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump at the Group of 20 summit to be held this week in Argentina.
"What's happening now on the bridge (Kerch) threatens to turn into a very unpleasant story," Kiselyov warned.
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Yuras Karmanau contributed to this report from Minsk, Belarus.
