DISINFO: Incident in Kerch Strait was a provocation associated with the low rating of Poroshenko
SUMMARY
On November 25, 2018, two boats "Nikopol" and "Berdyansk", as well as the tugboat "Yany Kapu" of the Ukrainian Navy violated the Russian border, entered the temporarily closed area of the Russian territorial sea and moved from the Black Sea to the Kerch Strait.
They maneuvered dangerously and did not obey the legal demands of the Russian authorities. The ships with the soldiers who violated the border of the Russian Federation were detained. The incident in the Black Sea was a provocation associated with the low rating of Petro Poroshenko, who was then President of Ukraine, on the eve of the elections.
On September 7, 2019, the military who violated the border were handed over to Ukraine within the framework of agreements on the simultaneous release of detainees and convicts. Russia on November 18, 2019 handed over three ships to the Ukrainian side. The Commander of the Ukrainian Navy, Admiral Igor Voronchenko, complained about the condition of these ships, stating that "the Russians killed them," the equipment, even plafonds and sockets, were allegedly removed from them. The FSB had earlier assured that Ukraine had received its boats in "normal condition and with serviceable plumbing", and in support of it released video footage.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation about the Kerch incident. No evidence is given that the confrontation was a planned provocation by former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.
On 25 November 2018, border patrol boats belonging to Russia’s FSB security service seized two small Ukrainian armoured artillery vessels and their crews after shooting at them, wounding several Ukrainian servicemen.
Russia argued that they were in Russian waters. However, a bilateral treaty between Russia and Ukraine, signed in 2003 and ratified by Russia in 2004, governs the use of the Kerch Strait and the Sea of Azov, which in the treaty are considered to be the “internal waters” of both Russia and Ukraine. The construction of the Kerch Bridge took place without Ukraine's consent and constitutes a violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. It has led, in parallel with the militarisation of the Azov Sea, to tougher controls on naval traffic in the strait. The European Union stated that it expects Russia to stop the inspections.
On 25 May 2019, the United Nations Tribunal for the Law of the Sea ordered Russia to immediately release Ukrainian sailors and allow them to return to Ukraine. The EU urged Russia to release the captured vessels, their crew and equipment unconditionally and without delay. Twenty-four military sailors returned to Ukraine on 7 September 2019 as part of a mutual release of detainees by Ukraine and Russia. On 21 November 2019, Russia returned the ships to Ukraine.
For further reporting see the Bellingcat, DFRLab and Polygraph investigations.