Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Ukrainian leader Petro Poroshenko of provoking the crisis in the Kerch Strait on Sunday to boost his popularity ahead of an election.
The incident was “a provocation organized by the current government … in the lead-up to the presidential election in Ukraine in March next year,” Putin said at a forum in Moscow, according to the TASS news agency.
The Russian president said Poroshenko’s popularity is so low, he risks not getting through to the second round of the vote, “so you need to do something to aggravate the situation and create insurmountable obstacles for his competitors, primarily from the opposition.”
Russia on Sunday opened fire on two Ukrainian armored artillery vessels and a tugboat off the coast of Crimea, with the country’s FSB security service claiming the vessels had illegally entered Russian waters. Russian authorities seized the three ships, detaining 24 sailors. In response to the incident, Ukraine’s parliament on Monday voted to introduce martial law in the country for 30 days.
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