The Foreign Ministry hereby issues a strong protest against the gross violation of the rules of peaceful passage in the territorial waters of ​​the Russian Federation in the Black Sea by Ukrainian naval ships, that took place on November 25, 2018. Russia has lodged a demand for an urgent UN Security Council meeting to discuss the current situation.

Russia has repeatedly warned the Kiev regime and its Western patrons about the danger of inflating artificial hysteria in connection with the Sea of ​​Azov and the Kerch Strait. Clearly, this is a well-thought-out provocation that took place in a predetermined place and form and is aimed at creating another hotbed of tension in that region and a pretext for stepping up sanctions against Russia. Clearly, all of this was also designed to distract attention from the domestic political problems that exist in Ukraine. This assumption is further corroborated by Kiev’s plans to impose martial law in the country, a move which is odious in the light of the upcoming presidential elections in the spring of 2019.

We are also outraged by the Ukrainian radicals unleashing another attack on Russia’s diplomatic missions, and the damage it caused. We demand that Kiev bring those responsible to justice and ensure the unconditional inviolability of the Russian Embassy and Consulate Generals in Ukraine in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961.

We are hereby issuing a warning to Ukraine that Kiev’s policy, pursued in coordination with the United States and the EU, that seeks to provoke a conflict with Russia in the waters of the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea is fraught with serious consequences. The Russian Federation will firmly curb any attempts to encroach on its sovereignty and security.