Ukraine institutes martial law
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has introduced martial law in several regions of Ukraine. 276 of Ukrainian lawmakers supported the bill prepared by the Ukrainian President.
Martial law is introduced for 30 days from November 28 to December 27.
The special status is introduced in 10 regions of Ukraine, which border the Russian Federation: Vinnytsia region, Luhansk region, Mykolaiv region, Odessa region, Sumy region, Kharkov region, Chernihiv region, Kherson region and of the internal waters of the Sea of Azov.
Speaking from the rostrum of the Parliament, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said that the martial law in these regions of Ukraine would be applied only in the event of "Russian military aggression".
“We had to decide on the imposition of martial law. I want to state separately that it will be applied only in the case of Russian military aggression, ” said Poroshenko.
The Ukrainian President also added: “The moment Russian soldier cross the Ukrainian border, I will not lose a second in order to ensure the protection of the Ukrainian land.”
The decision to limit the area of martial law is a compromise between some Ukrainian MPs and the President. Not all of them supported the introduction of the martial law throughout the territory of Ukraine.
The National Security Council initially advocated the imposition of martial law throughout Ukraine for a period of 60 days. Later, the president decided to reduce the period of martial law to 30 days.
The presidential decree contains 12 points, one of them is classified. The full text of the Decree has been published on the Presidential website.
The martial law has been introduced after three Ukrainian Naval ships were seized by Russia in the Kerch Strait.
24 Ukrainian sailors have been detained. 6 sailors were injured during Russian attack on Ukrainian ships.