SIMFEROPOL (Russia) (Pakistan Point news / Sputnik - 27th November, 2018) Kiev's decision to introduce martial law after the recent incident in the Kerch Strait poses no threat to Crimea, head of Russia's Republic of Crimea Sergei Aksyonov said on Tuesday.
On Monday, the Ukrainian authorities introduced martial law in selected regions of Ukraine along the border with Russia as well as along the coast of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov for 30 days. The decision was made a day after three Ukrainian military vessels had been intercepted by Russia while attempting to illegally cross the Russian maritime border.
"That [Ukraine's martial law] poses no threat to Crimea. I am sure that we have enough personnel and weapons in the Republic of Crimea. First of all thanks to our President [Vladimir Putin], Crimea is protected and turned into an unassailable fortress like whole Russia. Nobody is allowed to illegally cross the Russian state border, which will result in a punishment in line with the Criminal Code," Aksyonov told the Rossiya-1 broadcaster.
On Sunday, Ukraine's Berdyansk and Nikopol gunboats and the Yany Kapu tug crossed the Russian maritime border. According to Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), the vessels sailed toward the Kerch Strait, an entrance to the Sea of Azov, where the ships were seized by Russia due to the lack of reply to a lawful demand to stop.
The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that Moscow would suppress any attempt to challenge its sovereignty and security. The ministry added that the actions conducted by Kiev in coordination with the United States and the European Union and aimed at provocations in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, might lead to serious consequences. Similarly, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the seizure was only a reaction from the Russian side to the entry of foreign military ships into Russia's territorial waters.
