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Ukraine’s parliament is to decide whether to bring in martial law as anger over the capture of three of its naval vessels by Russia spilled into the streets overnight.
Protesters gathered outside the Russian embassy in Ukraine’s capital Kiev after news of the seizure off the Crimean Peninsula emerged on Sunday.
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The incident marks a major escalation of tensions between the two countries.
The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting as a result.
Each country blames the other for the incident in which two gunboats and a tug were captured and a number of Ukrainian crew members injured.
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Later, about 150 people gathered outside the Russian embassy, some throwing flares. At least one car belonging to the embassy was set alight.
“We gathered here today to protest against Russians over their actions today, over shooting of our military,” Oleksiy Ryabov told Reuters news agency.
“We are very angry. We should have severed all diplomatic relations with this country a long time ago.”
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Reuters
About 150 protesters gathered at the embassy
During a meeting of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, President Petro Poroshenko described the Russian actions as “unprovoked and crazy”.
He said he would suggest martial law was brought in to parliament on Monday.
Tensions have recently risen in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov off the Crimean peninsula – annexed by Russia in 2014.
How did the crisis unfold?
The crisis began when Russia accused the Ukrainian ships of illegally entering its waters.
In the morning, Ukraine’s Berdyansk and Nikopol gunboats, and the Yana Kapa tug, tried to sail from the Black Sea port of Odessa to Mariupol in the Sea of Azov, which is shared between the two countries.
Ukraine says the Russians tried to intercept the ships, ramming the tug. The vessels continued towards the Kerch Strait, the only access to the Sea of Azov, but were prevented by a tanker placed under a bridge which had been placed there by the Russians.
Russia scrambled two fighter jets and two helicopters to the area. It accused the ships of illegally entering its waters and said the traffic had been suspended for security reasons.
The Ukrainian navy later said the boats had been hit and disabled as they tried to leave the area. It said six crew members had been injured.
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Russia’s FSB later confirmed that one of its patrol boats had used force to seize the three Ukrainian vessels but said only three sailors had been wounded.
Ukraine said it had informed the Russians of its plan to move its ships through the sea to Mariupol.
Blame game
Analysis by Steven Rosenberg, BBC News, Moscow
Tension between Russia and Ukraine has been building for months off Crimea.
Under a 2003 treaty between Moscow and Kiev, the Kerch Strait and the Sea of Azov are shared territorial waters.
But recently there, Russia began inspecting all vessels sailing to or from Ukrainian ports.
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Photoshot
A tanker under the bridge shut all navigation from and into the Sea of Azov
The use of force by Russia to seize Ukrainian vessels – with casualties – is a major escalation. But you won’t hear Moscow taking the blame.
Under President Vladimir Putin, when Russia has used force before, its line of defence has always been: “We didn’t start it.” That goes for the Russia-Georgia War of 2008, and the appearance of “Little Green Men” (Russian special forces) in Crimea in 2014, which preceded Moscow’s annexation of the peninsula.
So, expect Moscow to pin the blame for what happened on Sunday and for whatever happens next on President Poroshenko’s government.
What’s the background to this?
The shallow Sea of Azov lies east of Crimea, and south of the Ukrainian regions partially seized by pro-Russian separatists.
The two Ukrainian ports on its northern shore – Berdyansk and Mariupol – are key to exporting grain and produce such as steel, also for importing coal.
The 2003 treaty between Ukraine and Russia guaranteed free navigation to both countries’ vessels.
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Getty Images
Russian navy ships intercepted the Ukrainian vessels after accusing them entering Russia’s waters
But Russia has recently begun inspecting ships going to or from Ukrainian ports. Earlier this month, the EU warned it would take “targeted measures” to address the issue.
The inspections began soon after Ukraine detained a fishing vessel from Crimea in March. Moscow says they are necessary for security reasons, pointing to a potential threat to the bridge from Ukrainian radicals.
More than 10,000 people have been killed in the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions since separatists moved against the Ukrainian state in April 2014.
Ukraine and the West accuse Russia of sending its troops to the region and arming the separatists.
Moscow denies this but says that Russian volunteers are helping the rebels.