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The frigate was spotted 1.5 nautical miles off the Crimean coast in the area of the town of Feodosia. A helicopter was visible onboard, the witness said. Tensions are high in the area after Vladimir Putin’s warships opened fire on three Ukrainian ships in the Black Sea on November 25.

Now even Vladimir Putin says Remoaners demanding new referendum are...

Russian forces detained 23 Ukrainian seamen, injuring at least six, after Moscow accused Kiev of “illegally” manoeuvring through the Kerch Strait.

With relations still raw after Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine and its backing for a pro-Moscow insurgency in eastern Ukraine, the crisis has risked pushing the two countries into open conflict.

Ukraine is not a NATO member though it aspires to membership.

The European Union, Britain, France, Poland, Denmark, and Canada all condemned what they called Russian aggression.