Yesterday Vladimir Putin’s ships attacked and seized Ukrainian vessels for “illegally manoeuvring” in the contested Kerch Strait in the Black Sea. The devastating display of firepower came today after an alarming conflict in the Black Sea on Sunday. Russian warships opened fire on three Ukranian ships.
Russian forces detained 23 Ukrainian seamen, injuring at least six, after Moscow accused Kiev of “illegally” manoeuvring through the Kerch Strait.
Meanwhile, in the Sea of Japan, the new corvette Gromky (Loud) launched its first Uran cruise missile.
Russian defence ministry TV channel Zvezda reported that the ship’s first cruise missile was successfully launched from the warship.
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The channel also reported that the military exercise was also backed up by up to 10 warships, auxillary boats and Pacific Fleet naval aircraft.
Pacific Fleet spokesman Nikolay Voskrsenskiy said: “The missile successfully hit its target 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the warship.”
The brand-new corvette Gromky ship is 343 ft long and can reach a top speed of 27 knots.
The frightening military exercise followed from Moscow’s show of strength against Kiev when it blocked Ukrainian ships from entering the Kerch Strait, between mainland Russia and annexed Crimea.
The move was seen as the most aggressive act of force since the tensions arose in 2014.
Russian warships opened fire on and seized three Ukranian vessels on Sunday.
Russian forces placed a tanker under a bridge, which links the peninsula to southern Russia – in order to block vessels from entering the Sea of Azov, which is shared by the two countries.
Ukrainian MPs are due to vote today on declaring martial law in response, as protestors descended upon the Russian embassy in Kiev on Sunday night in response to the incident.
The two nations are blaming each other for the conflict, with Russia saying the incident is being used to halt elections in Ukraine, which they say President Poroshenko is falling behind in.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense said the small gunboats Berdyansk and Nikopol and the tugboat Yana Kapu were attacked. Vladimir Dzhabarov, vice-chairman of the Russian upper chamber’s foreign affairs committee said: “All of this has been orchestrated by Poroshenko, who is lagging behind in the [presidential] election [campaign].
“His goal is to introduce the state of emergency in Ukraine to cancel the elections or set all Ukrainians against Russia in order to try to improve his approval rating with the help of a new wave of anti-Russia sentiments.”
President Petro Poroshenko responded by describing the Russian action against the Ukrainian navy ships as “an act of aggression aimed at deliberately escalating the situation in the waters of the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait.”
President Poroshenko called for international condemnation of Moscow and demanded sanction be imposed on Moscow.
A 2003 agreement confirmed the Azov Sea and the Kerch Strait are domestic waters of both Russia and Ukraine.