Today, December 9, Russia's FSB announced that the Ukrainian vessel Donbass, allegedly approached the Kerch Strait without prior application for passage and viewed this as a provocation by Ukraine. Defense Minister Alexei Reznikov called this yet another Russian information gaffe.
According to the minister, the Russian Federation continues its manipulation by calling today's "incident" a provocation, since the Donbass vessel is a search and rescue vessel and has no weapons on board.
"Another piece of information thrown in by Russia. It is very strange that the Russian special services saw a threat from a search and rescue vessel - a vessel without weapons, while the FSB ships are constantly at a distance of 2 kilometers from Mariupol and Berdyansk. The Russian ships are armed with 30 mm guns", - said Reznik.
The minister also noted that the Sea of Azov is a water area of general use, in connection with which the Ukrainian ships have a full right to be there.
"In general - the Sea of Azov is a water area of common use, we are there on legal grounds. The fact that they represent a distance of 18 miles (33km) as a danger to them, speaks only about another manipulation," - added Reznikov.
