Russia, Ukraine in conflict over shared waters

The Russian coast guard shot at and seized three Ukrainian vessels on Sunday, wounding two crew members after a standoff in the Black Sea. The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) blamed Ukraine for the incident, saying the ships passed unauthorized through the Kerch Strait, which connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov and separates the Crimean Peninsula from Russia. FSB officials said there was “irrefutable evidence that Kiev prepared and orchestrated provocations … in the Black Sea. These materials will soon be made public.” But Ukrainian authorities claimed they had given advance notice to Russia that the vessels would be moving through the strait and that one of its boats was rammed by a Russian coast guard boat.

Russia has since blocked the strait, the only way into the Sea of Azov, with a tanker ship. Dozens of cargo ships awaiting passage are stuck, and a long-term closure would amount to an economic blockade of Ukrainian cities on the Azov coast. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko proposed imposing martial law in the country Monday afternoon in the wake of the seizure. The Ukrainian Parliament is expected to vote on the issue later Monday. The United Nations Security Council called an emergency meeting for Monday morning over the escalating situation.