One of the Ukrainian sailors who was captured in the Kerch Strait incident was born in Chisinau, but does not have Moldovan nationality, Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Tudor Ulianovski was quoted by IPN as saying in the November 28 meeting of the Cabinet.
On November 25, a Russian cargo ship stopped three Ukrainian Navy vessels from passing under the Kerch Strait Bridge. Russia accused the Ukrainian ships of illegally entering its territorial waters. Since Ukrainian Navy refused to leave its waters when being warned, Russia fired on and seized three Ukrainian vessels off the coast of annexed Crimea, injuring three servicemen.
Ukraine classed the incident as a provocation. President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko signed a decree on the martial law and Parliament approved it the next day, imposing the martial law in the regions that border Russia and the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova for a 30-day period.
