Tension escalates after Russia seizes Ukraine naval ships

Russian forces opened fire on and seized three Ukrainian naval vessels off of the Crimean Peninsula, the BBC reports. The incident began when Ukraine’s Berdyansk and Nikopol gunboats and the Yana Kapa tug tried to sail from Odessa to Mariupol on the Sea of Azov. Along the way, the Ukrainian boats tried to cross the Kerch Strait but were prevented by a tanker that Russia placed under a bridge. Russia scrambled two fighter jets and two helicopters to the area. Russia’s FSB later confirmed that one of its patrol boats had used force to seize the three Ukrainian vessels and that three Ukrainian sailors were wounded. Kiev says six Ukrainian crew members were injured.

 

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