Martial law, imposed on November 25 in some Ukrainian areas, expired on Wednesday, President Petro Poroshenko told the country’s security council. Poroshenko said this month he did not plan to extend martial law beyond the one month initially foreseen unless there was “a large scale attack from Russia.” Three Ukrainian Navy ships were detained earlier in the Kerch Strait, which controls access to the Sea of Azov. Moscow said the ships entered Russian waters while trying to cross the strait without prior notice, ignoring orders to stop. Under the martial law, Ukraine banned Russian men aged 16 to 60 from entering the country and boosted security at some facilities. </s> Poroshenko said earlier this month he did not plan to extend martial law beyond the one month initially foreseen unless there was a large scale attack from Russia.

The Ukrainian navy ships were captured in the Kerch Strait, between Russian-annexed Crimea and southern Russia, which controls access to the Sea of Azov, where there are both Russian and Ukrainian ports.

Moscow said the ships entered Russian waters while trying to cross the strait without prior notice, ignoring orders to stop. Kiev said its ships needed no Russian permission to cross the strait.

Under the martial law, Ukraine banned Russian men of combat age from entering the country and boosted security at critical sites such as nuclear power stations and Black Sea ports. </s> KIEV — Martial law, imposed on Nov. 25 in some Ukrainian areas after a naval confrontation in which Russia fired on and seized three Ukrainian vessels, expired on Wednesday, President Petro Poroshenko told the country's security council.

Poroshenko said earlier this month he did not plan to extend martial law beyond the one month initially foreseen unless there was a large scale attack from Russia amid renewed tensions between the neighbors.

The Ukrainian navy ships were captured in the Kerch Strait, between Russian-annexed Crimea and southern Russia, which controls access to the Sea of Azov, where there are both Russian and Ukrainian ports.

Moscow said the ships entered Russian waters while trying to cross the strait without prior notice, ignoring orders to stop. Kiev said its ships needed no Russian permission to cross the strait.

Under the martial law, Ukraine banned Russian men of combat age from entering the country and boosted security at critical sites such as nuclear power stations and Black Sea ports.

Ukraine's military chief said this month Russia had been ramping up its forces near the border since August and now poses the greatest military threat since 2014, the year it annexed Crimea. </s> MOSCOW - Ukraine's leader has announced an end to the 30-day martial law imposed after Russia seized Ukrainian ships in the Black Sea.

Ukraine announced martial law last month after Russian coast guards fired at and seized three Ukrainian ships and their crews. The 24 seamen still remain in Russian custody.

The incident is another episode in the long-simmering conflict between the two countries that started in 2014 with Russia's annexation of the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's martial law was widely seen as an attempt by the unpopular leader to score political points ahead of next year's presidential election.

Poroshenko told the cabinet on Wednesday that Ukraine had boosted its defences during the 30 days of martial law, which officially expired earlier in the day. </s> KIEV — Martial law, imposed on Nov. 25 in some Ukrainian areas after a naval confrontation in which Russia fired on and seized three Ukrainian vessels, expired on Wednesday, President Petro Poroshenko told the country's security council.

Poroshenko said earlier this month he did not plan to extend martial law beyond the one month initially foreseen unless there was a large scale attack from Russia amid renewed tensions between the neighbors.

The Ukrainian navy ships were captured in the Kerch Strait, between Russian-annexed Crimea and southern Russia, which controls access to the Sea of Azov, where there are both Russian and Ukrainian ports.

Moscow said the ships entered Russian waters while trying to cross the strait without prior notice, ignoring orders to stop. Kiev said its ships needed no Russian permission to cross the strait.

Under the martial law, Ukraine banned Russian men of combat age from entering the country and boosted security at critical sites such as nuclear power stations and Black Sea ports.

Ukraine's military chief said this month Russia had been ramping up its forces near the border since August and now poses the greatest military threat since 2014, the year it annexed Crimea.

Meanwhile Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday it hoped Western countries would not take part in any Ukrainian attempt to stage what it called "a provocation" near the Kerch Strait and dissuade Kiev from escalating tensions in the area.

Ukraine said last week it planned to send warships to its Azov Sea ports via the Kerch Strait despite Russia's seizure of three navy vessels and their crews in the area in November.

British defense minister Gavin Williamson visited Ukraine last week where he told his Ukrainian counterpart that the Black Sea did not belong to Russia and that Britain had sent a Royal Navy ship there to show Kiev did not stand alone. </s> Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko claimed on Wednesday that he does not intend to ask for martial law to be extended in some regions of Ukraine.

Commenting on the upcoming vote, he argued that martial law has not affected the presidential election in Ukraine, which is scheduled for March 31.

The Ukrainian president's remarks come after Russia's President Vladimir Putin said that the Kerch Strait incident was a provocation prepared in advance as a pretext to introduce martial law and suspend voting rights ahead of Ukraine's presidential election, as Poroshenko's popularity ahead of the vote has been low.

On November 25, Ukraine's Berdyansk and Nikopol gunboats and the Yany Kapu tugboat illegally crossed the Russian maritime border as they sailed toward the Kerch Strait, the entrance to the Sea of Azov. The Ukrainian vessels were seized by Russia after failing to respond to a demand to stop. Following the incident, Poroshenko signed a decree declaring martial law in several Ukrainian regions located near the Russian border. </s> The president of Ukraine has on Wednesday ended the state of martial law that he had decreed a month ago for parts of his country.

Petro Poroshenko imposed martial law on Nov. 26 following the capture of three Ukranian navy ships and 24 sailors by Russian forces. </s> Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has announced the end of martial law in the country's border regions that was imposed last month after Russia seized Ukrainian ships in the Black Sea.

"Today, right now, at 2:00 p.m. martial law ends. This is my principal decision," Poroshenko said during a military cabinet meeting in Kyiv on December 26.

Poroshenko said he had reached the decision "based on an analysis of all the components of the security situation in the country."

On November 26, Ukraine's parliament backed Poroshenko's request to introduce martial law after Russian forces fired on Ukrainian ships and seized 24 Ukrainian nationals near the Kerch Strait.

The seamen remain in Russian custody and are facing criminal charges of illegally crossing Russia's border.

The European Union and the United States have said Russia's actions were illegal and have called on Moscow to immediately return the vessels and their crews to Ukraine.

The incident, during which a Russian vessel rammed a Ukrainian Navy tugboat, further escalated the conflict between the ex-Soviet neighbors that flared up in 2014 with Russia's occupation and annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula.

Russia has provided military, economic, and political support to separatist militants in eastern Ukraine. About 10,300 people have been killed since early 2014 in that conflict, which the International Criminal Court (ICC) ruled in November 2016 was "an international armed conflict between Ukraine and the Russian Federation."

The 30-day martial law was imposed in 10 regions, including those close to areas controlled by Russia-backed rebels in the east of the country, abutting the Russia-backed separatist Transdniester region in Moldova, and along the Sea of Azov coast.

Despite the lifting of martial law, tensions between Russia and Ukraine remain high. Top Russian officials, including Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, have claimed that Kyiv was preparing a "provocation" in the border area.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on December 24 that Russia was concerned Ukraine might "switch to full-scale combat actions within the next few days" or stage a provocation using "chemical-warfare agents."

Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said in an interview published in Rossiiskaya Gazeta on December 26 that "leaders of ultrarightist groups from the U.S. have been training for months together with radical organizations in Ukraine."

"Feeling such support [from the United States], Poroshenko confidently resorts to provocative steps, including on the Ukrainian-Russian border," Patrushev said. "In the light of upcoming [Ukrainian presidential] elections, it can be predicted that new such actions with U.S. support could be expected in the near future."

Ukraine has said Russia is amassing military forces along the border, in the annexed Crimea region, and in the Black Sea area.

Speaking at a military event in Kyiv on December 1, Poroshenko said Russia has deployed "more than 80,000 troops, 1,400 artillery and multiple-rocket-launch systems, 900 tanks, 2,300 armored combat vehicles, 500 airplanes, and 300 helicopters" near the border.

During the National Security and Defense Council meeting on December 26, Poroshenko said "Ukraine will never halt the use of its Azov ports, including by military vessels."

With reporting by AFP, AP, UNIAN, and TASS </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.
Martial law in Ukraine ends a month after an attack on three Ukrainian Navy vessels near the Kerch Strait.