Ukrainian martial law declaration may be preparation for war with Russia
Imposition of martial law is likely part of the plan, as Ukraine has been increasingly provocative on several fronts recently.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is imposing martial law after his country’s ships faced off with Russian ships near Crimea. The Ukrainian parliament, the Verkhovnaya Rada, has at this time not yet signed off on this order, but they are expected to do so.
The martial law status will be in effect from November 26 to January 26, about sixty days.
This happened because Ukrainian ships ventured deliberately into Russian territorial waters near the Crimean Peninsula, apparently not notifying Russian authorities before doing so, though the Ukrainians claim they did warn of their crossing.
RT chronicled the events from the Russian point of view, which we provide here with emphases added:
The waters near the Crimean peninsula were the site of a tense standoff between Russian and Ukrainian ships that involved a chase, some gunfire, and fighter jets, followed by strong statements from Moscow and Kiev.
The Ukranian vessels were sailing between two Ukrainian ports: from Odessa in the Black Sea to Mariupol in the Azov Sea. The only waterway that connects these is the Kerch Strait between Crimea and mainland Russia. Kiev says it notified Moscow in advance that its navy ships would be sailing through the area. Moscow denies that it was given warning.
While both Russia and Ukraine have freedom of navigation in the Kerch Strait under a 2003 treaty, there are detailed technical rules on how vessels should pass through the narrow, complex waterway. All traffic in the area is controlled by the Crimean sea port of Kerch, and every ship should contact the facility, report her route and destination, and receive permission to sail through the Strait.
Schematic of Ukrainian ships’ pathway through the Kerch Strait. Courtesy RT.com and Google Maps
At around 7am Moscow time (4am GMT) on Sunday, two artillery boats and a tugboat belonging to the Ukrainian Navy crossed the Russian maritime border in the Black Sea and headed to the Kerch Strait.
These ships had not followed the procedure, said the Russian Federal Security Service responsible for maintaining order at the border.
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