Whose provocations. What happened in the Kerch Strait
Russia insists that the Ukrainian ship Donbass "has created a threat to the safety of navigation."
Россия настаивает, что украинский корабль Донбасс создал угрозу безопасности мореплавания .
korrespondent.net
During a telephone conversation between US President Joe Biden and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky in the Kerch Strait, a tense situation occurred around the passage of the Ukrainian Navy ship Donbass. Correspondent.net tells the details.
Kremlin warns of serious consequences
Simultaneously with the call from US President Joe Biden to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, which took place two days after negotiations with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, the Russian FSB announced that a Ukrainian ship was moving towards the Kerch Strait and did not respond to inquiries.
As soon as the conversation between the two presidents ended, the Russian side announced that the floating workshop of the Soviet fleet, built in 1969, which has been called Donbass since 2001 and is part of the Ukrainian Navy, was on the opposite course.
According to the FSB of the Russian Federation, on the morning of December 9, Donbass left the port of Mariupol and moved towards the Kerch Strait.
As reported in the Russian special service, at 13:45 (Moscow time) the FSB coast guard ship warned the Ukrainian sailors about "the need to comply with Russian law when submitting an application to pass through the strait," to which the reply was received that the Donbass would not go through the Kerch Strait. plans. "
"At present, the Donbass is located at a distance of 18 nautical miles to the Kerch Strait, it does not comply with the requirements to change the course. These actions pose a threat to the safety of navigation," the Russian FSB said.
This statement, against the backdrop of incessant reports of Russia's preparations for a military invasion of Ukraine, caused a stir in the Russian media and social networks.
So, the editor-in-chief of RT, Margarita Simonyan, commented on what was happening: "Did it start, or what? Mother, don't let me down." And TV presenter and propagandist Vladimir Soloviev began an unscheduled stream, where he discussed with the guests possible scenarios of an armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
After Moscow announced that Donbass was on the opposite course, Simonyan wrote Disagree, adding a sad smile to the post.
The situation evoked associations with the events of 2018, when Russian border guards seized with weapons in the Kerch Strait three ships of the Ukrainian Navy and 24 members of their crews, citing the fact that these ships allegedly invaded the territorial waters of Russia. More details in the material What to expect from the court in The Hague.
At the same time, at that moment the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Partnership between Russia and Ukraine was in force, which clearly stated the free right of Ukrainian sailors to walk in this water area. Its term expired in 2019.
At the same time, the Kremlin's website contains the "Agreement between the Russian Federation and Ukraine on Cooperation in the Use of the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait", signed in 2003. Nobody terminated this agreement.
A few minutes after the end of the telephone conversation between Biden and Zelensky, the Russian FSB issued a new press release, which said that the Donbass was on the opposite course from the Kerch Strait, but also did not respond to requests.
"The actions of the Ukrainian ship's crew are regarded as provocative and posing a threat to the safety of navigation," the Russian special service emphasized.
Ukraine denies Russia's accusations. The head of the Ministry of Defense Alexei Reznikov said that the water area of the Azov Sea is a shared zone, and the Ukrainian ship is there legally. The minister called the information of the RF FSB "information stuffing".
It is very strange that the Russian special services saw a threat from a search and rescue vessel - a vessel without weapons, while FSB ships are constantly located two kilometers from Mariupol and Berdyansk ... That they represent a distance of 18 miles as a danger to them , speaks only of the next manipulations, "he said.
Reznikov also noted that "this provocative information attack" was made during a telephone conversation between Zelensky and Biden. He added that the Ukrainian ship returned to the port and "no incidents happened."
According to the press service of the Joint Forces Operation headquarters, the Donbass vessel carried out tasks in Ukrainian territorial waters and did not approach the Kerch Strait.
"Regarding the fake statements of the FSB of the Russian Federation in the network. The OOS press service informs that the ship of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Donbass was not included in the" sensitive zones. "
The Marine Traffic website showed a congestion of ships at the entrance to the Kerch-Yenikalsky canal both from the Azov Sea and from the Black Sea, but there was no information about Donbass, writes Krym.Realii.
On December 10, Russia continued to promote the topic. For example, the Kremlin considers yesterday's events to be provocative and potentially dangerous.
What happened once again shows the potential harm and potential danger that can arise from such provocative actions. Any such provocation can lead to very, very serious consequences ... This is what President Putin has repeatedly spoken about, "said Kremlin Speaker Dmitry Peskov.
The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, announced the "next provocation" of Ukraine, which is part of the "complex of provocative actions at the Russian borders."
"In my opinion, this is obvious, this is another provocation. It is simply not one, it is not an isolated one, it is not individual, it is a complex of provocative actions that are being carried out around our borders," she said on the air of Channel One.
The Federation Council of the Russian Federation called on to consider what happened in the UN Security Council. According to Russian Senator Olga Kovitidi, the situation in the Kerch Strait brings the world closer to the unfolding of a hot conflict in the very center of Europe.
