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On Sunday, a major international incident took place at the Kerch Strait which connects Crimea with mainland Russia, when a Russian border patrol ship stopped three Ukrainian Navy vessels from passing through the narrow waterway. The Russian authorities have accused the Ukrainian ships of illegally entering its territorial waters without prior notice, and instead attempting to force their way through. According to reports, Russian officers repeatedly hailed the Ukrainian vessels but calls were ignored by the Ukrainian Navy. This prompted Russia to fire upon the boats, before eventually seizing all three Ukrainian vessels including two gunboats and one tug boat. It is believed that at least four Ukrainian sailors sustained injuries during the four-hour affair, but they have since been given medical care and have been declared ‘out of danger.’

However, based on all of the circumstantial evidence prior to, and after this event, and particularly those moves made by leaders in Kiev and Washington DC, this incident appears to have been a planned provocation specifically designed to escalate diplomatic and military hostilities internationally. The detailed summary and timeline provided below will clearly substantiate this conclusion.

If this is indeed the case, then NATO and Kiev are playing an extremely dangerous game, one which threatens to trigger a major military conflict.

The altercation began when the Ukrainian vessels entered the restricted security zone, which was followed by a ramming incident where a Russian border patrol vessel struck the Ukrainian tug boat. Watch:



Holy f. Unconfirmed video of a Russian military vessel ramming a Ukrainian ship in the #KerchStrait. Lots of swearing in Russian. #Kerch #KerchBlockade pic.twitter.com/FPnqCmqA89 — Igor Zhdanov (@IgorZhdanovRT) November 25, 2018

This was a serious international incident between two opposing countries who are ostensibly on war-footing with each other, and with NATO hovering in the background, more than prepared to escalate if required.

However, despite the geopolitical tensions present, this was still a relatively minor incident compared with other regional flashpoints in the past, like Georgia’s reckless attack on South Ossetia in 2008 – which triggered Russian retaliation and a bloody battle which ensured.

However, a quick appraisal of some key events before this incident, as well as adroit moves made immediate after by Kiev, indicate that this was very likely a planned provocation used to escalate the situation in Ukraine and increase geopolitical tension…



The incident took place in Russian-controlled Kerch Straits, with the Ukrainian boats traveling from the Black Sea into the Azov Sea. Crimea recently left the Ukraine and joined the Russian Federation in 2014, although this move is still contested by the Ukraine and its backers in Washington and Brussels. In 2015, Russian began construction of the Crimea Bridge which joins Crimean peninsula to mainland Russia, which was completed in spring of 2018. The disagreement over this status is being used by Kiev and NATO to test international law and Russian territorial control in and around the two country’s shared water ways. Russia maintains that the three Ukrainian Navy vessels were in violation of Articles 19 and 21 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, by illegally crossing the Russian maritime border without proper authorization in a security sensitive zone.

In response to the incident on Sunday, Russia parked a large tanker under the bridge which effectively blocks all naval traffic to and from the Azov Sea (pictured above).

Kiev declares Martial Law in the Ukraine

Perhaps the most telling indication this was staged provocation, most likely coordinated by NATO, was how fast the Ukrainian president declared Martial Law. Considering how relatively minor this incident was, it seems somewhat outrageous that Kiev would place the country on war footing, and close-down society. President Petro Poroshenko summoned his war cabinet on Sunday to call for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council over the supposed “attack” of Russia. Then on Monday, Ukraine Parliament voted overwhelmingly to impose Martial Law lasting for 30 days. This comes ahead of the Ukrainian elections where Poroshenko is performing badly in the polls, currently in third place behind his competitors.

Resumption of hostilities in the Donbass

Immediately following the Kerch incident, the US-backed Ukrainian forces resumed heavy shelling of civilians in the Donbass. The timing of this does not appear to be a coincidence.

The Ukrainian army on Sunday opened up with massive artillery fire, shelling residential areas of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), an RIA Novosti correspondent has reported.

Watch is Ukrainian Far-Right mobs attack Russian Embassy in Kiev:

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In Brussels, EU Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs Maja Kocijancic issued a statement encouraging all parties “to act with utmost restraint to de-escalate the situation immediately” and said the bloc expected “Russia to restore freedom of passage at the Kerch Strait.”

Expect more fighting talk from the US and NATO members in the coming days. Regardless, NATO and Kiev are playing a very dangerous game – and one which may pave the way beyond mere cold war concerns, but towards the unimaginable – a World War III scenario.

Western leaders would do well to reconsider their current positions, and the western press would do well to engage in a much more serious way in relation to this story.

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READ MORE CRIMEA NEWS AT: 21st Century Crimea Files

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