The Latest on Russian-Ukrainian naval tensions near Crimea (all times local):
11:30 p.m.
The Russian Federal Security Service says that it has evidence that Ukraine is responsible for clashes between Russian and Ukrainian ships in the Black Sea.
The agency, known as the FSB, said in a statement Sunday night that “there is irrefutable evidence that Kiev prepared and orchestrated provocations … in the Black Sea. These materials will soon be made public.”
The Ukrainian navy says Russian ships fired on and seized two of its artillery ships Sunday following an incident near Crimea, which Moscow annexed from Kiev in 2014. A tugboat was also seized.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Facebook that the incident was characteristic of Ukrainian behavior: provoke, pressure and blame for aggression.
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10:55 p.m.
Ukraine says that the number of boats hit by Russian fire has increased to two, with two crew members wounded, and that both vessels have been seized by Russia.
The Ukrainian navy made the announcement in a statement late Sunday. Russia didn’t immediately comment on the claims.
Hours earlier, Ukraine said that a Russian coast guard vessel rammed into a Ukrainian navy tugboat, resulting in damage to the ship’s engines and hull. The incident took place Sunday as three Ukrainian naval ships were transiting from Odessa on the Black Sea to Mariupol in the Sea of Azov, via the Kerch Strait.
Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.
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10:40 p.m.
The spokesman for Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko says that the leader is convening an emergency meeting of the military’s top brass amid tensions with Russia near the Crimean Peninsula.
Svyatoslav Tsegolko made the announcement late Sunday in a tweet after the Ukrainian navy said that Russian ships opened fire on Ukrainian vessels, hitting one of them and injuring a crew member, in the Kerch Strait. Russia didn’t immediately comment on the claims.
Hours earlier, Ukraine said that a Russian coast guard vessel rammed into a Ukrainian navy tugboat, resulting in damage to the ship’s engines and hull. The incident took place Sunday as three Ukrainian naval ships were transiting from Odessa on the Black Sea to Mariupol in the Sea of Azov, via the Kerch Strait.
Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.
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10:25 p.m.
The Ukrainian navy says that a Russian ship has opened fire on Ukrainian naval vessels in the Black Sea following a tense standoff off the coast of the Crimean Peninsula.
The Ukrainian navy said in a statement posted on Facebook on Sunday evening that one of its small artillery boats, the Berdyansk, was damaged and one crew member was injured.
Earlier, Ukraine said that a Russian coast guard vessel rammed into a Ukrainian navy tugboat, resulting in damage to the ship’s engines and hull. The incident took place Sunday as three Ukrainian naval ships were transiting from Odessa on the Black Sea to Mariupol in the Sea of Azov, via the Kerch Strait.
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1:45 p.m.
The Ukrainian navy says a Russian coast guard vessel rammed a Ukrainian navy tugboat, resulting in damage to the ship’s engines and hull.
The incident took place Sunday as three Ukrainian naval ships were transiting from Odessa on the Black Sea to Mariupol in the Sea of Azov, via the Kerch Strait.
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) told Russian news agencies Sunday that the Ukrainian ships held their course even though the area was temporarily closed.
“Their goal is clear,” an FSB statement said, “to create a conflict situation in the region.” The statement did not mention ramming the Ukrainian tugboat.
Though a 2003 treaty designates the Kerch Strait and Sea of Azov as shared territorial waters, Russia has been asserting greater control over the passage since 2015.
