Ukrainian President calls on NATO to send military ships to Sea of Azov
In an interview with the German newspaper Bild, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has urged the countries of the North Atlantic Alliance to send military ships to the Sea of Azov, after an attack by Russia on Ukrainian sailors in the Kerch Strait.
The Ukrainian President emphasized that the presence of NATO ships is necessary to guarantee safety in the Sea of Azov.
“Germany is one of our closest allies, and we hope that NATO states are prepared to send ships to the Sea of Azov in order to support Ukraine and provide security,” Poroshenko commented.
He said that Russian President Vladimir Putin views himself as a “Russian emperor” and Ukraine as a Russian colony.
“The only language that Putin understands is the cohesion of the western world,” Poroshenko emphasized.
“We cannot accept this aggressive policy of Russia’s, first it was Crimea, then eastern Ukraine, and now he wants the Sea of Azov. Germany must also ask itself: what will Putin do next time, if we do not stop him?” he remarked.
Earlier the Ukrainian president said that he is hoping for support from US President Donald Trump during the G20 summit. In particular, he is counting on Trump to ask Russia to withdraw from Ukraine.
On the morning of November 25, Ukraine informed the Russian port of its intention to transfer three ships through the Kerch Strait, as required by the Agreement on the joint use of the Azov Sea and Kerch Strait. However, at around 8:00 a.m., Russian ships carried out acts of provocation against the Ukrainian vessels, even ramming into the Yany Kapu tugboat.
Russia later accused the Ukrainian ships of illegally entering its territorial waters, claiming that they were “maneuvering dangerously” and “not complying with the legitimate demands of the Russian authorities”. Russia also physically blocked the Kerch Strait with a transport ship. The Ukrainian ships decided to return to Odessa, but they were chased and subsequently attacked by the Russian military. The Berdiansk and Nikopol boats were hit, and two crew members were wounded. All three of the ships were seized by Russia.
On November 28, the Kremlin-controlled court of Simferopol placed the Ukrainian sailors under 2 months of arrest – until January 25, 2019.