Ukrainian president declares the state of war in Ukraine and Moscow warns Ukraine of continuing escalation in the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed Monday a decree declaring the state of war in Ukraine for 60 days until January 25, 2019.

“The implementation of the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, dated November 26, 2018, on the emergency measures to ensure the sovereignty of the state and the independence of Ukraine and the introduction of the state of war in Ukraine”.

The Ukrainian Security Service was instructed to take immediate measures to strengthen the anti-intelligence, terrorism, sabotage and information security system.

The Ukrainian announcement comes against the backdrop of escalating military tension between Moscow and Kiev in the Azov Sea region.

The Ukrainian presidency also said that “Poroshenko approved the decree of emergency measures to ensure the sovereignty and independence of the Ukrainian state and declare the state of preparedness in Ukraine, issued earlier today by the National Security and Defense Council of the country”.

The decree also instructs the General Staff of the Ukrainian Forces and the Ministry of Defense of the country to scrutinize the mobilization plan for the army, especially in relation to the first round of reserve forces, in addition to taking measures for partial mobilization.

The text of the resolution was published without the 12th item of the document, which is considered confidential.

This came after the Ukrainian president asked the Russian side to release the Ukrainian sailors and ships held by Moscow after the escalation between the two parties in the Azov Sea on Sunday.

Hours ago, Russia approved the firing of its troops on Ukrainian warships in the Azov Sea to stop them.

According to a statement issued by the Russian Federal Security Service, Ukrainian warships tried to violate the Russian border in the evening, requiring the intervention of the naval fleet, and vessels of the Federal Security.

On the other hand, the Ukrainian capital of Kiev witnessed a demonstration in front of the Russian embassy building, for condemning the attack on Ukrainian battleships, where the demonstrators burned tires and put carvings of ships in front of the embassy.

The Ukrainian Navy Command said in a statement earlier that a security boat belonging to the Russian Federal Security Service, fired on Ukrainian warships at the Straits of Kerch in the Sea of ​​Azov, wounding six soldiers, and that the Russian special forces detained these vessels.

Moscow has expressed strong protest against the blatant violation of the rules of peaceful transit of ships in Russia’s territorial waters in the Black Sea by vessels belonging to the Ukrainian Navy on 25 November 2018.

“It called on the UN Security Council to hold an emergency meeting to discuss the situation”, Moscow said in a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry on Monday.

The Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed that Moscow “had repeatedly warned the government in Kiev and its sponsors in the West of the danger of spreading the fabricated hysteria around the Azov Sea and the Kerch Strait”.

The Russian Foreign Ministry considered that the violation of the three Ukrainian vessels of Russian waters in the Sea of ​​Azov “represents a provocative and planned and carefully planned work in its form and time in order to ignite a new hotbed of tension in this region and create an excuse to tighten the sanctions against Russia” as well as “divert attention from internal problems in Ukraine”.

“The best evidence of this is Kiev’s determination to impose a state of high alert in the country, which appears to be” disgusting and disgusting “in light of the upcoming presidential elections in the spring of 2019”.

Moscow has expressed its displeasure at the “new offensive by Russian Radicals against Russian diplomatic missions and damaging them”, calling on the authorities in Kiev to punish officials and ensure the immunity of the embassy and Russian consulates on the territory of Ukraine under the provisions of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961.

Russia also warned the Ukrainian side that “the policy pursued by Kiev in coordination with the United States and the European Union, aimed at escalating tension with Russia in the Azov and Black Sea basins is fraught with serious consequences, as Russia will strictly deter any attempts to undermine its sovereignty and security”.

In May, Russia inaugurated a bridge linking the Crimean peninsula with Russia that would allow Moscow to limit the geographical and economic isolation of the Crimea annexed by Moscow in March 2014.

The United States warned Russia on Monday that the actions it described as “outlawed”, such as the detention of Ukrainian ships in the Azov Sea, prevented the development of normal relations between Washington and Moscow.

“The United States welcomes normal relations with Russia,” US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley told the UN Security Council.

“Such “extrajudicial acts” will continue to make that impossible”.

Haley also called on Russia to “release” Ukrainian ships and crews.

“We call on Russia to respect its international obligations and not to object or harass Ukrainian navigations in the Kerch Strait”, “the release of detained Ukrainian ships and their crews”, and “reduce the tension it caused”.

“In the name of peace and security in the world, Russia must immediately stop its actions outside the law and respect the freedom of navigation and freedoms of all countries”, without referring to the possibility of new US sanctions on Russia as demanded by Kiev.

Washington has blocked a UN Security Council session demanded by Moscow on Monday morning to discuss the issue in the Security Council.

European Council President Donald Tusk on Monday condemned Russia’s use of force in the Azov Sea.

Tusk said through his Twitter account that he and Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko discussed recent developments in the Azov Sea and noted that the EU would continue to support Ukraine.

“I condemn Russia’s resort to violence in the Azov Sea”, he said.

Tusk also called on Russia to return Ukrainian sailors and ships, and called on Moscow to avoid taking more provocative steps.

Earlier, the Ukrainian Navy Command said that a security boat belonging to the Russian Federal Security Service had shot Ukrainian warships at the Kerch Strait in the Azov Sea, wounding six soldiers, and that Russian special forces had detained the ships.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko expressed his “condemnation of this aggressive act by Russia with the aim of deliberately pushing the situation” in this region.

Moscow, meanwhile, confirmed that it had detained the three ships in a shootout, wounding three Ukrainian sailors, while the Ukrainian army said the number of wounded was six, not three.

Moscow accused Ukrainian warships of carrying out “illegal activities in Russian territorial waters”.

The Kerch Strait is the only maritime route between the Black Sea and the Azov Sea and is a strategic hub of utmost importance to Russia and Ukraine.

Traffic on the Straits of Kerch, linking the Black Sea and the Sea of ​​Azov, was suspended on Sunday for reasons of violation by the Ukrainian navy of the Russian border and resumed on Monday morning.

The border police of the Russian Federal Security Service in the Crimea reported illegal passage of three Ukrainian navy vessels, the international border of Russia and its entry into the temporarily closed water zone in Russian territorial waters, and the failure of these vessels to comply with the legal requirements of ships and boats of the Federal Security Forces Russian escort, to stop immediately, prompting the Russian Black Sea Fleet to detain.

The Russian security service said in a statement on Sunday that in order to force the Ukrainian military vessels to stop the use of weapons, stressing that the three Ukrainian naval vessels were detained, adding, according to news agencies quoted by Russian news that three elements of the Ukrainian crew were injured and received Medical care and their lives are not at risk.

Ukrainian ships – Berdiansk, Nikopol and Yani Kabu – crossed the Russian border this morning and tried again on November 25 at 19:00 Moscow time to carry out illegal activities in Russian territorial waters.

According to the Russian security service, the Ukrainian vessels did not respond to the “legitimate requests” of the vessels of the Russian authorities to stop and conducted a dangerous maneuver.

The agency also pointed out that the prosecution of the three vessels to penetrate the Russian border.

Following the escalation, the EU and NATO called on Russia and Ukraine to defuse the tension and called on Moscow to reassert freedom of transit in the Kerch Straits.

“We expect Russia to reassert freedom of transit in the Kerch Straits and demand that all parties act with maximum restraint in order to reduce the tension immediately”, the EU spokesman said in a statement.

In turn, NATO called for restraint and reduced tension.

The martial law in Ukraine will come into effect from 3 pm Moscow time from 26 November to 3 pm on 25 January 2019.

Ukraine’s General Staff has also been ordered to take measures to organize a partial mobilization of troops.