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Putin Warns Ukraine Against Committing any 'Reckless Acts'

by Margaret Besheer

   Russian President Vladimir Putin is warning Ukraine against committing
   any "reckless acts" as Ukraine imposed martial law after Russian forces
   seized three Ukrainian ships and their crews in the Black Sea.

   In a phone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Putin
   said he was "seriously concerned" about the developments and asked
   Germany to approach Ukrainian authorities "to dissuade them from
   further reckless acts," the Kremlin said.

   The Kremlin had previously warned the imposition of martial law could
   lead to a flare up in hostilities in eastern Ukraine.

   President Petro Poroshenko said martial law will help "strengthen
   Ukraine's defense capabilities amid increasing aggression and according
   to international law a cold act of aggression by the Russian
   Federation."

   Ukraine's parliament voted Monday to approve martial law in 10 of the
   country's 27 regions beginning Wednesday.

   The measure calls for 30 days of martial law, an apparent concession to
   opponents, which would allow for elections to be called as scheduled in
   December.

   Russia fired on two Ukrainian naval ships and rammed a third vessel
   Sunday in the Black Sea, seizing the ships and accusing them of
   illegally entering its territorial waters.

   U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres urged Ukraine and Russia
   Tuesday to exercise "maximum restraint" to avoid further escalation in
   the region.

   U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley condemned Russia for
   its "outrageous violation of sovereign Ukrainian territory."

   "This is no way for a law-abiding civilized nation to act," Haley said
   at a Monday emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council. "Impeding
   Ukraine's lawful transit through the Kerch Strait is a violation under
   international law. It is an arrogant act that the international
   community must condemn and will never accept."

   At the U.N. Security Council, most members condemned the escalation,
   urged restraint and called for the unconditional and immediate release
   of the Ukrainian sailors and the return of their ships.

   Poroshenko is demanding Russia immediately release the Ukrainian
   sailors and ships.

   NATO head Jens Stoltenberg also called on Russia to release the
   Ukrainian navy ships, saying "there is no justification" for Moscow's
   actions, while European Union chief Donald Tusk condemned Russia's use
   of force and reiterated the EU would stand in support of Ukraine.

   Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused Ukraine of violating
   international norms with "dangerous methods that created threats and
   risks for the normal movement of ships in the area."

   Russia's deputy envoy Dmitry Polyanskiy blamed Kyiv and its western
   supporters for the escalation.

   "This provocation was pre-planned, that's obvious, and it was with the
   full connivance of Western states that de facto have just given carte
   blanche to any actions taken by their subordinates," he said.

   Ukraine's U.N. ambassador, Volodymyr Yelchenko, said his government
   would like to see a tightening of economic sanctions on Moscow.

   "The sanctions is the only real tool that can make Russia at least
   start thinking of their behavior," Yelchenko said after the meeting.
   "Sanctions, they do bite."

   Ukrainian officials say at least six sailors were wounded in the
   incident and denies any wrongdoing.

   "We think our sailors committed no crime whatsoever," Ambassador
   Yelchenko said, noting that Crimea is not recognized as Russian
   territory by anyone except Russia. "What are they claiming, that
   Ukrainian sailors committed a crime by crossing the Russian border?
   Where is this border? It does not exist."

   Russia's deputy U.N. envoy appeared to signal the Ukrainian sailors
   would not be released quickly and could face a trial.

   "The three sailors, they were acting in provocation and they were
   conducting a crime according to the laws of the Russian Federation,"
   Dmitry Polyanskiy told reporters. "Each and every sovereign country has
   [a] right to prosecute people who conduct crimes and unlawful acts on
   their territory, that's our approach.

   Sunday's incident began when a Ukrainian tugboat set out to escort two
   navy ships from Odessa, on the Black Sea, through the Kerch Strait to
   the Ukrainian port of Mariupol, in the Sea of Azov.

   The Kerch Strait is the only passage between the two seas.

   Ukraine said Russia used a tanker to block access to the Kerch Strait,
   which under a treaty is shared territory.

   The Trump administration has previously warned Russia against trying to
   strangle the Ukrainian economy by harassing international shipping
   through the Kerch Strait.

   Russia forcibly annexed Ukraine's Crimea Peninsula in 2014, claiming
   its ethnic Russian majority was under threat from the Ukrainian
   government.

   Fighting between pro-Russian forces in eastern Ukraine and Ukrainian
   troops has eased in recent months, but there are still occasional
   deadly flare-ups.

   Russia has consistently denied sending weapons and fighters to help the
   separatists, despite strong evidence to the contrary.