Ukraine will again send its navy ships to pass the Kerch Strait after Russia attacked Ukrainian ships that tried to cross it in November, said Oleksandr Turchynov, the secretary of Ukraine’s Security and Defense Council.
In a BBC interview published on Dec. 19, Turchynov said that Ukrainian vessels must try to cross the strait connecting the Black and Azov Sea to prevent Russia from solidifying its control over the key water pass and over the Azov Sea, into which the strait is the only waterway.
“We have no choice,” said Turchynov. “If we stop and retreat, Russia will fulfill its task of seizing the Azov Sea, bringing the self-defined new sea borders in the Black Sea to the world, de facto legalizing the occupation of the Crimea.”
Russian coast guard ships on Nov. 25 attacked and seized three Ukrainian navy vessels as they tried to pass from the Black Sea into the Azov Sea through the Kerch Strait, and captured 24 Ukrainians on board. The Ukrainians were taken to Moscow and are facing trial for violating the Russian state border.
The attack took place in the international waters close to the coast of Crimea, a Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014.
Russia’s aggression, based on the Kremlin’s claim that Crimea and the waters around it are Russian as a result of the annexation, was condemned by the Western nations.
The Azov Sea and the Kerch Strait are in joint and equal use by Russia and Ukraine according to an agreement the two countries signed in 2003.
“Russia wants to make the Azov Sea a Russian lake,” Turchynov said.
Turchynov didn’t specify when the Ukrainian ships will attempt to pass the Kerch Strait again.
However, he offered that the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and other international organizations take part in the passage of Ukrainian navy vessels from the Black Sea ports to the Ukrainian ports of the Azov Sea. He said he wanted to prove to the world that Ukraine is not violating any laws or international rules when using the water pass of the Kerch Strait.
Turchynov added that it would be logical for NATO to send its ships to the Ukrainian ports of the Azov Sea and assure that Russia complies with international law.
“So far, such an initiative has not received an answer,” he said. “But I hope that during the next pass of Ukrainian warships through the Kerch Strait, they will at least send their observers to us.”
Turchynov stressed that Russia’s destabilizing actions are still not punished, with no new sanctions introduced against Russia.
Turchynov believes that restraining measures should be taken against Russian fleet all around the world. Otherwise, Russia’s next steps will be even more bloody and dangerous not only for Ukraine but also for other countries, according to him.
“When the attention of the leading countries of the world will be focused on this issue, Russia will step forward and put tail between its legs,” Turchynov said.
