The Ukrainian Navy ship Donbass (A-500) headed towards the Kerch Strait, which it cannot cross without permission from the Russian side. The ship does not respond to requests to change course, according to the Public Relations Center of the FSB of Russia.
According to the service, the ship moved in the direction of the strait this morning, while Ukraine did not receive applications for the passage of the Kerch-Yenikalsky canal.
“At 13:45, the Russian FSB SS Coast Guard ship accompanying him warned of the need to comply with Russian legislation (in part concerning the filing of the necessary applications for passage through the Kerch Strait). An answer was received that it does not plan to follow through the Kerch Strait, ”the message says.
However, the ship has already approached the Kerch Strait and is at a distance of 18 nautical miles from it, and the crew refuses to fulfill the requirement to change course. The secret service stressed that the actions of the Ukrainian ship pose a threat to the safety of navigation in the region.
Earlier today, the official representative of the Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, said that negotiations on a peaceful settlement of the situation in Donbass have reached an impasse today. According to her, NATO countries are now “pumping weapons” into Ukraine, which is “in a state of civil war.” In addition, peace in this area is not facilitated by the decision of the Council of the European Union to allocate 31 million euros for military-technical assistance to Ukraine, said the representative of the Foreign Ministry. Also, referring to the data of the OSCE special monitoring mission, she announced the buildup of forces by Kiev on the line of contact in Donbass, the transfer of heavy weapons there and the use of drones.
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