Russia blocks access to Sea of Azov in Ukraine dispute

Russia has shut off access to the Sea of Azov from the Black Sea, accusing Ukrainian vessels of traversing its territorial waters without permission, Russian state TV reported on Sunday.

Earlier in the day, a Russian coast guard vessel rammed a Ukrainian navy tugboat, resulting in damage to the ship’s engines and hull, the Ukrainian navy said.

The incident happened when two Ukrainian navy artillery boats and a tugboat were transiting from Odessa on the Black Sea to Mariupol in the Sea of Azov, via the Kerch Strait, a narrow passage between Crimea and the Russian mainland.
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Russia blocks access to Sea of Azov in Ukraine dispute

Bellingcat Report

(…) based on geolocated video footage, Ukrainian ships did enter Russian-claimed territorial waters, both that of Crimea and mainland Russia in the Kerch Strait. Ukraine nonetheless argues this was legally permissible due to the 2003 agreement between the two countries. Secondly, we can say that the Ukrainian tug ‘Yani Kapu’ was intentionally rammed at least four times over a period of at least an hour. Thirdly, based on information provided by the Russian FSB which appears to incriminate themselves, the shooting of the ‘Berdyansk’ most likely took place in international waters.