KIEV, April 10. /TASS/. Ukraine has arrested a Russian dredge ship in the Odessa region under a case of illegal sand extraction, Tatiana Tikhonchik, a spokeswoman for the so-called Crimean prosecutor’s office (part of the Ukrainian prosecutor general’s office), told TASS on Tuesday.

"On April 10, 2018, the investigating judge upheld a motion of the Crimean prosecutor’s office and arrested a ship owned by a Russian trespasser company, which is currently staying at the port of Yuzhny in the Odessa region," she said.

Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Yuri Lutsenko wrote earlier on his Facebook account that the prosecutor’s office was probing into the case of illegal sand extraction in the Black Sea’s Karkinit Bay "on temporarily occupied territories." "It has been found out that sand extraction is carried out by a dredge ship owned by Trans Services Maritime Co., with a home port in Russia’s Tuapse," Lutsenko wrote, adding that sand "is used for illegal construction" near Kerch. </s> The United Nations Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Monday after Russia seized three Ukrainian navy ships off the coast of Crimea, the US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley wrote on Twitter.

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), which oversees the country's border guard service, said it was forced to open fire on the ships on Sunday after they illegally entered Russian territorial waters.

"There is irrefutable evidence that Kiev prepared and orchestrated provocations," it said. "These materials will soon be made public."

Three Ukrainian sailors wounded in the clashes were in a stable condition and receiving medical care, it added.

Earlier in the day, Russia blocked access to the Sea of Azov from the Black Sea, accusing the same three Ukrainian vessels of entering its territorial waters without permission.

The two Ukrainian navy artillery boats and a tugboat were transiting from Odessa on the Black Sea to Mariupol in the Sea of Azov via the Kerch Strait, a narrow passage between Crimea and the Russian mainland.

The Ukrainian navy said a Russian coast guard vessel responded to their presence by ramming the tugboat, resulting in damage to the ship's engines and hull.

Ukraine's interior minister, Arsen Avakov, shared a video on Twitter purporting to show the moment the Russian ship rammed the tugboat.

Read more: Five years after Euromaidan, Ukraine's new reformers battle corruption

Ukraine said Russia's actions broke international law and vowed a "diplomatic legal response." The FSB, it insisted, had received advance notice about the ships' movements.

President Petro Poroshenko said on Monday that he would propose parliament declare martial law. This would restrict civil liberties and give state institutions greater power.

The European Union and NATO separately called for restraint on both sides and for Russia to restore freedom of passage via the Kerch strait.

Although a 2003 treaty designates the tow areas as shared territorial waters, Russia has been asserting greater control over the passage since 2015.

The latest dispute has raised concerns about a possible escalation of a wider conflict between the two neighbors.

Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014 to widespread international condemnation. Since then, Ukraine has fought a civil war against pro-Russian separatists in the country's eastern regions.

Each evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here. </s> Russia fired on and then seized three Ukrainian ships on Sunday, accusing them of illegally entering its waters in the Sea of Azov, in a dramatic spike in tensions that raises fears of a wider escalation.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg held phone talks with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, and officials from the two sides will meet later in the day.

“The Secretary-General expressed NATO’s full support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, including its full navigational rights in its territorial waters under international law,” NATO said of Stoltenberg’s call.

Kiev demanded the return of its ships and sailors, denouncing “another act of armed aggression” by Russia, which annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.

The Ukrainian military has been put on high alert and the country’s parliament is to vote on a request by Poroshenko to impose martial law for 60 days.

Ukraine has also urged its Western allies to step up existing sanctions implemented against Russia over Crimea and its role in the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine between the government and pro-Moscow separatists.

Moscow blamed Kiev for the incident, with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accusing Ukraine of a planned provocation and of using “dangerous methods” that put ships in the area at risk.

Russian denials drew a barbed response on Twitter from the US Special Envoy for Ukraine Negotiations, Kurt Volker.

“Russia rams Ukrainian vessel peacefully travelling toward a Ukrainian port. Russia seizes ships and crew and then accuses Ukraine of provocation???” Volker tweeted.

Tensions have been building over the Kerch Strait, where Russia has built a new bridge that gives it a land connection to Crimea.

Kiev has accused Moscow of blocking access for Ukrainian ships through the strait, the only way in and out of the Sea of Azov to the Black Sea.

The European Union warned Sunday that tensions in the Azov Sea and Kerch Strait had “increased dangerously” and demanded Russia restore freedom of passage. </s> Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Ships ablaze off Crimea after explosion

At least 11 people have died in a fire involving two Tanzanian-flagged cargo vessels in the Black Sea near the Kerch Strait, authorities say.

Russian rescuers are trying to reach sailors who jumped overboard. Fourteen people have so far been rescued.

One ship is a gas tanker, and the fire reportedly followed an explosion, which set the other vessel on fire.

They were named as the Kandy (Venice), with a crew of 17 from Turkey and India, and Maestro, with 14 sailors.

The fire broke out when one vessel was transferring fuel to another, Russian maritime agency spokesman Alexei Kravchenko said, adding that this had then forced several crew members to jump overboard.

Rescue workers reportedly witnessed a further three people struggling in the water, who most likely had drowned.

AFP news agency said that "no signal from either one of the two captains" had been received.

Authorities in the Crimean city of Kerch are now preparing to receive the victims.

The crew members were sailing in "neutral waters" in the Black Sea when the incident occurred, authorities said.

The names of the two vessels, the Venice and the Maestro, both appear on a US treasury list as possible targets for sanctions over petroleum shipments to Syria.

The US tightened sanctions against Syria back in 2011 in response to what it said was President Bashar al-Assad's "continued atrocities" committed against the Syrian people.

The Kerch Strait is a focus of tension between Russia and Ukraine.

In November, Russian border guards seized three Ukrainian naval vessels near the narrow channel, which links the Black Sea with the Sea of Azov.

A court in Russia has extended by three months the detention of 24 Ukrainian sailors captured in the incident. They are accused of illegally crossing into Russian territory.

Ukraine condemned the Russian move, denying that its ships had violated the navigation laws in the area. The strait lies off Ukraine's Crimea peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014. </s> Ukrainian policemen guard the Russian embassy building with smoke behind during Ukrainian activists rally in Kiev, Ukraine, 25 November 2018. Russia has seized three Ukrainian vessels amid their leaving the Kerch Strait; Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is gathering the Military Cabinet over the incident.

MOSCOW – Ukrainian lawmakers were set to consider a presidential request for the introduction of martial law in the country on Monday following an incident in which Russian coast guard ships fired on Ukrainian navy vessels.

An emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council was also called for Monday. The European Union and NATO called for restraint from both sides.

The Ukrainian navy said six of its seamen were wounded when Russian coast guards opened fire on three Ukrainian ships near the Kerch Strait and then seized them late Sunday.

The two nations traded blame over the incident that further escalated tensions that have soared since Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and backed a separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine.

Ukraine said its vessels were heading to the Sea of Azov in line with international maritime rules, while Russia charged that they had failed to obtain a permission to pass through the Kerch Strait separating Crimea from the Russian mainland.

More: Russia fires on Ukrainian vessels in Black Sea; 2 wounded

The narrow strait is the only passage between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. It’s spanned by a 19-kilometer (11.8-mile) bridge that Russia completed this year.

Ukraine’s president, Petro Poroshenko, chaired an emergency meeting of his Cabinet early Monday and asked parliament to introduce martial law in response to what he described as Russian aggression.

“We consider it as an act of aggression against our state and a very serious threat,” the president said. “Unfortunately, there are no ‘red lines’ for the Russian Federation.”

The Ukrainian military said that six of the 23 crew on board its three vessels were wounded. Russia’s Federal Security Service that is in charge of the coast guard said that three Ukrainian sailors were lightly injured and given medical assistance. It said the Ukrainian boats were towed to the nearby port of Kerch.

Russia closed the Kerch Strait for sea traffic Sunday by positioning a tanker under the bridge spanning it. It reopened the route early Monday.

The seizure of the Ukrainian ships followed a tense situation in which the three Ukrainian vessels were maneuvering near the Kerch Strait for hours shadowed by Russian coast guard boats.

The incident came after months of tensions and incidents in the Sea of Azov that involved inspections and seizures of ships.

While a 2003 treaty designates the Kerch Strait and Sea of Azov as shared territorial waters, Russia has sought to assert greater control over the passage since the annexation of Crimea.

Yuras Karmanau in Minsk, Belarus, contributed to this report. </s> MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s coast guard opened fire on and seized three of Ukraine’s vessels Sunday, wounding two crew members, after a tense standoff in the Black Sea near the Crimean Peninsula, the Ukrainian navy said.

Russia blamed Ukraine for provoking the incident, which sharply escalated tensions that have been growing between the two countries since Moscow annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, and it has worked steadily to bolster its zone of control around the peninsula.

Earlier in the day, Russia and Ukraine traded accusations over a separate incident involving the same vessels, prompting Moscow to block passage through the narrow Kerch Strait, which separates the peninsula from the Russian mainland.

The Ukrainian navy said two of its gunboats were struck and Russian crews boarded and seized them and an accompanying tugboat.

Russia’s Federal Security Service, known as the FSB and which oversees the coast guard, said there was “irrefutable evidence that Kiev prepared and orchestrated provocations … in the Black Sea. These materials will soon be made public.”

The FSB confirmed early Monday that it fired on the vessels to force them to stop, and then seized them.

The European Union and NATO called for restraint from both sides and for Moscow to restore access to the strait, which Ukraine uses to move ships to and from ports on either side of the peninsula.

Ukrainian authorities said they had given advance notice to the Russians that the vessels would be moving through the strait, which connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov.

Russia said the three Ukrainian vessels made an unauthorized passage through Russian territorial waters, while Ukraine alleged that one of its boats was rammed by a Russian coast guard vessel.

The tugboat, which was rammed, was traveling with the two Ukrainian gunboats from Odessa on the Black Sea to Mariupol, an eastern Ukraine port, via the Kerch Strait.

“Russian coast guard vessels … carried out openly aggressive actions against Ukrainian navy ships,” the Ukrainian statement said, with the tugboat suffering damage to its engine, hull, side railing and a lifeboat.

The Kerch Strait is the only passage into the Sea of Azov. The strait is spanned by the recently completed Kerch Bridge, connecting Crimea to Russia. Transit under the bridge has been blocked by a tanker ship, and dozens of cargo ships awaiting passage are stuck.

Russia has not given any indication of how long it will block the strait, but a long-term closure to would amount to an economic blockade of Ukrainian cities on the Azov coast. Russia’s Black Sea Fleet greatly outmatches the Ukrainian navy.

Ukrainian ports on the Sea of Azov include strategically vital centers such as Mariupol, the closest government-controlled city to Donetsk and Luhansk, the breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine controlled by Russia-backed separatists. Thousands of people in those regions have been killed in fighting between Ukrainian troops and the separatists since 2014.

The FSB told Russian news agencies after the first incident that the Ukrainian ships held their course and violated Russian territorial waters.

“Their goal is clear — to create a conflict situation in the region,” the FSB statement said. It did not mention that a Ukrainian tugboat was rammed.

Although a 2003 treaty designates the Kerch Strait and Sea of Azov as shared territorial waters, Russia has been asserting greater control over the passage since 2015.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said earlier that Russia’s actions violated the U.N. Charter and international law, and pledged to “promptly inform our partners about Russia’s aggressive actions.”

“Such actions 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.”

Ukraine’s National Security Council said in a statement that it was meeting over the incident.

About 50-100 people gathered outside the Russian Embassy in Kiev to protest Moscow’s actions.

Dmitry Kiselyov, a commentator on Russian state-controlled TV, told viewers of his Sunday evening news program that Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko, encouraged by the U.S., is looking to pick a fight with Russia in the Black Sea.

The talk show host also alleged the U.S. talked Poroshenko into staging a provocation against Russia as a means to disrupt an upcoming meeting between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump at this week’s Group of 20 summit in Argentina.

“What is happening now at the (Kerch) bridge threatens to turn into a very unpleasant story,” Kiselyov said. </s> MOSCOW/KIEV (Reuters) - Russia seized three Ukrainian naval ships off the coast of Russia-annexed Crimea on Sunday after opening fire on them and wounding several sailors, a move that risks igniting a dangerous new crisis between the two countries.

Russia’s FSB security service said early on Monday its border patrol boats had seized the Ukrainian naval vessels in the Black Sea and used weapons to force them to stop, Russian news agencies reported.

The FSB said it had been forced to act because the ships - two small Ukrainian armored artillery vessels and a tug boat - had illegally entered its territorial waters, attempted illegal actions, and ignored warnings to stop while maneuvering dangerously.

“Weapons were used with the aim of forcibly stopping the Ukrainian warships,” the FSB said in a statement circulated to Russian state media.

“As a result, all three Ukrainian naval vessels were seized in the Russian Federation’s territorial waters in the Black Sea.”

The FSB said three Ukrainian sailors were wounded in the incident and were getting medical care. Their lives were not in danger, it said.

With relations still raw after Russia’s annexation of Crimea and its backing for a pro-Moscow insurgency in eastern Ukraine, the incident risks pushing the two countries toward a wider conflict.

Ukraine denied its ships had done anything wrong, accused Russia of military aggression, and asked for the international community to mobilize to punish Russia.

The U.N. Security Council will meet on the latest developments at the request of Russia and Ukraine, diplomats said.

POROSHENKO PROPOSES MARTIAL LAW

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko met his top military and security chiefs. Poroshenko said he would propose that parliament impose martial law.

Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and then built a giant road bridge linking it to southern Russia that straddles the Kerch Strait - a narrow stretch of water that links the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov, which is 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.

The crisis began on Sunday after Russia stopped the three Ukrainian ships from entering the Sea of Azov by placing a cargo ship beneath the bridge.

Seized Ukrainian ships, small armoured artillery ships and a tug boat, are seen anchored in a port of Kerch, Crimea November 26, 2018. REUTERS/Pavel Rebrov

A Reuters witness said Russia backed its blockade with at least two Sukhoi Su-25 warplanes that screeched overhead. Russian state TV said Russian combat helicopters had been deployed in the area.

The Ukrainian navy said on social media six Ukrainian sailors were wounded in the subsequent seizure of its ships, which appear to have been rammed and boarded, and that the Russian attack on them had occurred after they had retreated and headed back toward Odessa, the Black Sea port from where they had begun their journey.

“After leaving the 12-mile zone, the Russian Federation’s FSB (security service) opened fire at the flotilla belonging to ... the armed forces of Ukraine,” it said in a statement.

The European Union said in a statement 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. A NATO spokeswoman issued a similar appeal to both sides.

RISK OF WIDER CONFLICT

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. Tension has risen since Russia annexed Crimea, with both countries complaining about shipping delays and harassment.

Russia’s border guard service accused Ukraine earlier on Sunday of not informing it in advance of the three ships’ journey, something Kiev denied.

Russia said the Ukrainian ships had been maneuvering dangerously and ignoring its instructions with the aim of stirring up tensions.

Slideshow (19 Images)

Russian politicians denounced Kiev, saying the incident looked like a calculated bid by Poroshenko to increase his popularity ahead of an election next year.

In another sign of rising tensions, Russia’s state-controlled RIA news agency reported on Sunday night that Ukrainian forces had started heavy shelling of residential areas in eastern Ukraine, which is controlled by pro-Moscow separatists.

Reuters could not independently confirm that and the Interfax news agency cited separatists as denying there had been any unusual escalation. </s> MOSCOW, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Russia reopened the Kerch Strait near Crimea to shipping in the early hours of Monday morning after firing on and seizing three Ukrainian naval ships a day earlier, a move that triggered a dangerous new crisis between the two countries.

Russia's FSB security service said early on Monday its border patrol boats had seized two small Ukrainian armoured artillery vessels and a tug boat after opening fire on them and wounding several sailors, the most serious clash between Moscow and Kiev in years.

It had previously blocked the Kerch Strait near Russia-annexed Crimea to stop the ships from passing from the Black Sea into the Sea of Azov, saying the small flotilla had not notified it of its plans in advance and ignored warnings to stop while manoeuvring dangerously.

With relations still raw after Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea and its backing for a pro-Moscow insurgency in eastern Ukraine, the incident risks pushing the two countries towards a wider conflict and is likely to renew Western calls for more sanctions on Moscow.

The Russian rouble opened 0.4 percent weaker against the dollar in Moscow, its lowest since mid-November.

Kiev, which denied its ships had done anything wrong, accused Russia of military aggression and asked for the international community to mobilise to punish Russia.

The U.N. Security Council will meet on the latest developments at the request of Russia and Ukraine later on Monday, diplomats said.

The European Union said in a statement it expected Russia to restore freedom of passage via the Kerch Strait and urged both sides to act with the utmost restraint to de-escalate the situation. A NATO spokeswoman issued a similar appeal to both sides.

A Reuters witness said the three Ukrainian naval vessels seized by Russia were being held at the Crimean port of Kerch. People in naval-style uniforms could be seen around the vessels, which bore no sign of damage, the witness said.

The FSB has said Russia has opened a criminal case in connection with what it said was the ships' illegal entry into Russia's territorial waters.

The FSB said three Ukrainian sailors were wounded in the incident and were getting medical care. Their lives were not in danger, it said.

The Ukrainian parliament is due to consider a proposal to impose martial law for 60 days later on Monday after Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko met his top military and security chiefs on Sunday night.

The move may be unpopular in some quarters in Ukraine since it would restrict civil liberties and give state institutions greater power ahead of a presidential election next year which polls indicate Poroshenko would lose. (Additional reporting by Tom Balmforth Editing by Christian Lowe) </s> The Kerch bridge is seen blocked for ships entrance, near Kerch, Crimea, Sunday, Nov. 25, 2018. A Russian coast guard vessel rammed a Ukrainian navy tugboat near Crimea, damaging the ship's engines and hull, the Ukrainian navy said Sunday. (AP Photo)

The Kerch bridge is seen blocked for ships entrance, near Kerch, Crimea, Sunday, Nov. 25, 2018. A Russian coast guard vessel rammed a Ukrainian navy tugboat near Crimea, damaging the ship's engines and hull, the Ukrainian navy said Sunday. (AP Photo)

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s coast guard opened fire on and seized three of Ukraine’s vessels Sunday, wounding two crew members, after a tense standoff in the Black Sea near the Crimean Peninsula, the Ukrainian navy said.

Russia blamed Ukraine for provoking the incident, which sharply escalated tensions that have been growing between the two countries since Moscow annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, and it has worked steadily to bolster its zone of control around the peninsula.

Earlier in the day, Russia and Ukraine traded accusations over a separate incident involving the same vessels, prompting Moscow to block passage through the narrow Kerch Strait, which separates the peninsula from the Russian mainland.

The Ukrainian navy said two of its gunboats were struck and Russian crews boarded and seized them and an accompanying tugboat.

Russia’s Federal Security Service, known as the FSB and which oversees the coast guard, said there was “irrefutable evidence that Kiev prepared and orchestrated provocations ... in the Black Sea. These materials will soon be made public.”

The FSB confirmed early Monday that it fired on the vessels to force them to stop, and then seized them.

An emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council was called for Monday morning over the escalating situation, according to U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley. The European Union and NATO called for restraint from both sides and for Moscow to restore access to the strait, which Ukraine uses to move ships to and from ports on either side of the peninsula.

Ukrainian authorities said they had given advance notice to the Russians that the vessels would be moving through the strait, which connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov.

Russia said the three Ukrainian vessels made an unauthorized passage through Russian territorial waters, while Ukraine alleged that one of its boats was rammed by a Russian coast guard vessel.

The tugboat, which was rammed, was traveling with the two Ukrainian gunboats from Odessa on the Black Sea to Mariupol, an eastern Ukraine port, via the Kerch Strait.

“Russian coast guard vessels ... carried out openly aggressive actions against Ukrainian navy ships,” the Ukrainian statement said, with the tugboat suffering damage to its engine, hull, side railing and a lifeboat.

The Kerch Strait is the only passage into the Sea of Azov. The strait is spanned by the recently completed Kerch Bridge, connecting Crimea to Russia. Transit under the bridge has been blocked by a tanker ship, and dozens of cargo ships awaiting passage are stuck.

Russia has not given any indication of how long it will block the strait, but a long-term closure to would amount to an economic blockade of Ukrainian cities on the Azov coast. Russia’s Black Sea Fleet greatly outmatches the Ukrainian navy.

Ukrainian ports on the Sea of Azov include strategically vital centers such as Mariupol, the closest government-controlled city to Donetsk and Luhansk, the breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine controlled by Russia-backed separatists. Thousands of people in those regions have been killed in fighting between Ukrainian troops and the separatists since 2014.

The FSB told Russian news agencies after the first incident that the Ukrainian ships held their course and violated Russian territorial waters.

“Their goal is clear — to create a conflict situation in the region,” the FSB statement said. It did not mention that a Ukrainian tugboat was rammed.

Although a 2003 treaty designates the Kerch Strait and Sea of Azov as shared territorial waters, Russia has been asserting greater control over the passage since 2015.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said earlier that Russia’s actions violated the U.N. Charter and international law, and pledged to “promptly inform our partners about Russia’s aggressive actions.”

“Such actions 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.”

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, after a meeting with his National Security Council, said in a statement he would ask parliament Monday to take up the issue of whether to implement martial law over the incident.

About 50-100 people gathered outside the Russian Embassy in Kiev to protest Moscow’s actions.

Dmitry Kiselyov, a commentator on Russian state-controlled TV, told viewers of his Sunday evening news program that Poroshenko, encouraged by the U.S., is looking to pick a fight with Russia in the Black Sea.

The talk show host also alleged the U.S. talked Poroshenko into staging a provocation against Russia as a means to disrupt an upcoming meeting between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump at this week’s Group of 20 summit in Argentina.

“What is happening now at the (Kerch) bridge threatens to turn into a very unpleasant story,” Kiselyov said.
Ukraine detains a Russian ship in Odessa suspected of illegally extracting sand.