A Ukrainian naval vessel that was reportedly sailing dangerously close to Russian waters on Thursday evening has changed course and is now moving away, local officials have said.
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) released a statement earlier saying that the Ukrainian command ship ‘Donbass’ was sailing toward the Kerch-Yenikalsky canal, which connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, near Crimea, without prior notification to the Russian side.
According to the FSB, the intruder initially did not respond to demands to change course, but later turned around and began to sail away from Russian waters.
“We view the actions of Ukrainian ship’s crew as provocative and a threat to the safety of navigation,” the FSB said.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Aleksey Reznikov told lb.ua that the ‘Donbass’ was unarmed and spoke about “yet another case of disinformation by the Russian side.”
“In general, the waters of the Azov Sea are the waters of joint usage. We’re operating there on legal grounds,” Reznikov said.
The FSB said that that the ship was sailing at a distance of 18 nautical miles from the Kerch Strait before changing course.
In a brief statement on social media, Ukraine’s military said that the ship was operating in Ukrainian territorial waters without entering “sensitive areas.” It added that the vessel was returning to its home base.
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