‘SHOOT TO KILL!’
Russia opens fire at Ukrainian navy ships injuring six and capturing 23 in Black Sea as Crimea tensions erupt
Ukraine's president called an emergency meeting of his war cabinet after condemning Russia's 'openly aggressive' actions
THE Russian military has seized three Ukrainian naval ships and 23 crew following a dramatic shootout off the coast of the Crimean peninsula.
Two of the craft - the Berdyansk and the Nikopol - were damaged in the Black Sea clash which left six injured - including two in a "grave" condition.
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Russian ships block Ukrainian navy from entering Sea of Azov
During the heated stand-off, a Russian coastguard vessel even rammed a Ukrainian navy tugboat after being ordered to "squash him."
Crew on the Russian ship were told to hold on tight as it ploughed into the Ukrainian tug in the hotly-contested Kerch Strait.
The same Russian ship then opened fire on and seized the three Ukrainian vessels, say military officials in Kiev.
Putin's special forces seized the military boats after claiming they had entered Russian waters illegally.
Ukraine's president has now called an emergency summit of his war cabinet - sparking protests outside Kiev's Russian embassy.
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Today MPs are due to vote on whether to declare nationwide martial law following the emergency summit held by President Petro Poroshenko.
He insisted that the act was not a declaration of war but intended for defence purposes only.
The confrontation is a dangerous development in a conflict pitting Ukraine against Russian-backed rebels in the east of the country.
Thousands died in fighting between Ukrainian troops and the separatists during the annexation of the Crimea by Russia in 2014.
Tension between Russia and Ukraine have been building for months off the coast of Crimea.
Under a 2003 treaty between Moscow and Kiev, the Kerch Straight and the Sea of Azov are shared territorial waters.
But recently, Russia began inspecting all vessels sailing to or from Ukrainian ports in the area.
What we know so far...
- The Berdyansk and Nikopol gunboats and the Yana Kapa tug tried to sail from Odessa to Mariupol in the Sea of Azov.
- Ukraine accused a Russian coastguard vessel of 'ramming' the Yana Kapa aggressively to stop their passage.
- The three boats continued towards Kerch Strait but were stopped by a Russian cargo ship blocking their wa.
- Russia scrambled two fighter jets and two helicopters to the area accusing the ships of illegally entering its waters.
- The Ukrainian navy later said the boats had been hit and disabled as they tried to leave the area.
- Russia's FSB later confirmed that one of its patrol boats had 'used weapons' to seize the three vessels.
- Ukraine's President said he would propose declaring martial law after calling an emergency summit of his war cabinet.
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However, the weekend's violence is the first time that Russian and Ukrainian fighters have officially clashed since 2014.
The crisis began on Sunday when Russia intercepted the Berdyansk and Nikopol gunboats and the Yana Kapa tug.
The Ukrainian navy said that a Russian coastguard vessel, named the Don, rammed one of its tugboats in "openly aggressive actions".
All three vessels continued towards the Kerch Strait, but were then stopped from entering the Sea of Azov by a huge cargo ship Russia had installed beneath the 12-mile long Crimean Bridge.
Initially Moscow claimed that Ukraine's actions were a "provocation" and that the ships had turned back.
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But hours later, the Russian Security Service (FSB) confirmed it had used weapons to stop the vessels from entering its waters illegally and had seized all three vessels.
Before any shots were fired, an audio exchange between a Russian and Ukrainian vessel suggests that the Ukrainian crew radioed they were unarmed.
The Russians asked: "How many injured?"
A Ukrainian voice replies: "We have lying injured here. We need help, we need help."
A Russian voice is heard saying: "Hands up, all onboard, hands up!"
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“If you have weapons or hands under clothes, we will shoot! Shoot to kill"
Then a Russian asks: "How many injured do you have?”
The Ukrainians reply: ";I need help, I need help!
“We are giving, son of a bitch, these coordinates. Bitch! I need help.”
The FSB was cited as saying it had acted because the ships had illegally entered its territorial waters, ignored warnings to stop and manoeuvred dangerously.
Dire straits
- Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and then built a giant road bridge linking it to southern Russia, straddling the Kerch Strait.
- The $3.69bn (£2.7bn) Crimean Bridge was opened by Russia's president Vladimir Putin in May 2018. At 11.2miles long, it is considered to be the longest bridge in Russia.
- The Kerch Strait is narrow stretch of water linking the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov, home to two of Ukraine's most important ports.
- Russia's control of Crimea, where its Black Sea Fleet is based, and of the bridge, mean it is able to control shipping flows.
- A bilateral treaty gives both Russia and Ukraine the right to use the Sea of Azov, which lies between them and is linked by the narrow Kerch Strait to the Black Sea.
- Since the annexation, tension has risen with both countries complaining about shipping delays and harassment.
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Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Ukraine was acting like "highwaymen" in the Kerch Strait.
she writes that first there was a "provocation", then "coercive pressure" and finally "the accusation of aggression".
However, President Poroshenko described the Russian actions as "unprovoked and crazy".
His Foreign ministry said: "Today's dangerous events in the Azov Sea testify that a new front of [Russian] aggression is open.
"Ukraine [is] calling now for emergency meeting of United Nations Security Council."
The EU said in a statement that it expected Russia to restore freedom of passage via the Kerch strait and urged both sides to act with utmost restraint to de-escalate the situation.
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A NATO spokeswoman issued a similar appeal to both sides.
Tensions have risen in the seas off the Crimean peninsula - annexed by Russia in 2014 - in recent months.
Since 2003 countries have had the right to use the strait, but since the annexation Moscow has controlled the land on both sides.
In a statement, the Ukrainian navy said the Berdyansk and the Nikopol gunboats were hit and disabled as they tried to leave the area, and that the tug was also forced to stop.
Russian fighter jets and helicopters were seen flying around the Crimean bridge, apparently monitoring Ukrainian vessels.
In a statement, Ukraine's foreign ministry said Russia had "crossed the line".
"Russia's provocative actions in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov have crossed the line and become aggressive," the statement said.
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"Russian ships have violated our freedom of maritime navigation and unlawfully used force against Ukrainian naval ships."
The martial law vote comes four months ahead of presidential elections that Poroshenko is expected to lose. Russian politicians have already highlighted that if normal government is suspended, elections could be postponed.
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