Tension escalating between Russia and Ukraine

Ukraine and Russia continue to point fingers after Sunday’s standoff in the Black Sea. Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, warned on Tuesday that the Ukrainian Parliament’s motion to impose martial law the day before could trigger escalating hostilities. Ukraine imposed 30 days of martial law on Monday in 10 regions after the Russian coast guard shot at and seized three Ukrainian vessels on Sunday. Russia claims the ships passed unauthorized through the Kerch Strait, which separates the Crimean Peninsula from Russia, while Ukraine maintains the vessels followed international maritime rules. The Russian FSB intelligence agency released a video late Monday showing interviews with three crew members from the Ukrainian ships who admitted they violated the Russian border. It remains unclear if the crewmen spoke under duress. The FSB said members of Ukraine’s SBU state security service were aboard the ships to stage a “provocation.”

Ukraine considers the 24 captured men, some of whom are seriously injured, to be prisoners of war, according to the country’s foreign minister Pavlo Klimkin. In a statement released Tuesday, the SBU said its officers boarded the ship to carry out counterintelligence operations and demanded Russia stop using “psychological and physical pressure” on the Ukrainians.

Thomas Greminger, secretary-general of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, said in a statement Tuesday that an “immediate de-escalation is both urgent and essential.”