Contents tagged with Sea of Azov

  • Ukrainian State Border Service: all ships are at sea and combat ready

    Chairman of the Ukrainian State Border Guard Service Petro Tsyhykal stated on the television channel UATV,  that all ships and boats of the State Border Service of Ukraine are combat ready.

    “Virtually the entire crew is at sea today,” states the State Border Service website, quoting Tsyhykal.

    Tsyhykal noted that from December 1st, the border guards are part of the staff of the Maritime Security Administration. Also, he stated that a regional maritime office had been created.

    Starting …

  • Kyiv considers restricting access of Russian ships to Ukrainian ports

    Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said that Ukraine considers the possibility of several actions after Russian border guards detained three Ukrainian ships  in the Kerch Strait. According to Klimkin, Ukraine may close a number of Ukrainian ports for Russian vessels.

    "One of the steps that we are talking about is to prevent all Russian ships that are coming from the Azov or Black Sea from entering certain ports, or to block the entrance to some vessels. And to restrict all possible …

  • Ukraine informs International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea about Russia's actions in the Sea of Azov

    The press service of the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that Ukraine has notified the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, which considers the lawsuit against Russia regarding its actions in the Sea of Azov, about the detention of Ukrainian navy ships and their crew.

    The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that recent events, "including the attack and seizure of Ukrainian ships, show that this is a deliberate and purposeful escalation of conflict by the …

  • US Representative for Ukraine Volker calls for additional pressure on Russia

    In light of the escalation of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the US calls on Europeans to make sure that the existing sanctions are being implemented. A statement to this effect was made by US Special Representative for Ukraine Kurt Volker in an interview with Deutsche Welle.

    “Europe must take a careful look at the implementation of the sanctions already in force. At present there are severe European sanctions in force against Crimea. But how strictly are they actually being applied?” …

  • Kyiv: Russia has blocked Ukraine’s ports in the Sea of Azov

    As of November 28, the Ukrainian ports at Mariupol and Berdyansk in the Sea of Azov have effectively been blocked by Russia, with ships unable to arrive or depart.

    This was reported by Ukrainian Minister of Infrastructure Volodymyr Omelyan on Facebook.

    “According to operational information, 18 ships are waiting to enter the Sea of Azov: four heading for the Berdyansk port and 14 for the Mariupol port. There is also a queue waiting to leave the Sea of Azov to the Black Sea: three ships are …

  • US Representative for Ukraine Volker: Russia wants to control access to Mariupol

    The developments in the Sea of Azov this past weekend show that Russia intends to take sole control over access to Ukrainian ports, said Kurt Volker, the US State Department’s Special Representative for Ukraine, as reported by Ukrinform.

    “I think that this is a matter of access to Mariupol for Ukrainians. Russia is claiming the unilateral right to control this access, that’s the problem. This definitely doesn’t mean that Russia is going to undertake a new offensive on land,” the American …

  • 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 …

  • Ukraine asks Budapest Memorandum signatories and EU for protection against Russia

    During an emergency session of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC), Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has asked the signatory countries of the Budapest Memorandum and the EU for assistance in repelling Russian aggression.

     “We turn to our partners according to the Budapest Memorandum, who have taken on themselves the obligation to protect the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of our state; we turn to the European Union, including the participants of the …

  • Russian border guard ship rams into Ukrainian Navy tug boat in Kerch Strait

    On the morning of November 25, a Russian ship rammed into the tug boat Yana Kapu belonging to the Ukrainian Navy, reported the press service of the Ukrainian Navy.

    According to the press service, two Ukrainian small armored boats Berdyansk and Nikopol, accompanied by the tug boat, carried out a planned transition from the port of Odessa to Mariupol. Russia was informed about the ships voyage beforehand.

    “However, contrary to the UN Convention on the Law of the sea and the Ukrainian-Russian …

  • President Poroshenko: Ukraine to establish new coast guard system to defend against 'sea invasion'

    During an address to border guards in Cherkasy, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said that by the end of 2018, there will be a new sea guard system along the country’s entire coast, which will monitor the maritime border from Izmail on the Black Sea to Mariupol on the Sea of Azov, UNN reports.

    “To protect Ukraine’s territory against an invasion from the sea, the relevant constituent is being expanded,” the head of state said.

    He emphasized that the military drills which were held on the …