Ukraine-Russia sea clash: Merkel rules out military solution

On Sunday Russia fired on three Ukrainian ships sailing towards the strait between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, and seized their crews.

Ukrainian leader Petro Poroshenko has urged Nato to send ships to the area.

Mrs Merkel blamed Russia for the crisis, but said it could only be resolved through “sensible dialogue”.

She was speaking alongside Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman at a business forum in Berlin.

Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Mr Poroshenko of creating the naval “provocation” to boost his ratings ahead of 2019 elections.

President Poroshenko has implemented martial law across Ukraine’s border regions for 30 days in response to the crisis.

On Thursday he announced that Russians living in Ukraine would soon face restrictions on bank withdrawals, changing foreign currency and travelling abroad.

Meanwhile, Russian state media report that Moscow has delivered a battalion of S-400 surface-to-air missiles to north Crimea, and also plans to build a new missile early-warning radar station there.
Would Nato help Ukraine?

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is the world’s most powerful regional defence alliance, and members agree that an armed attack against one is considered an attack against them all.

Ukraine is not a Nato member, but it is a Nato partner country, meaning they co-operate on some political and security issues.

Mr Poroshenko told Germany’s Bild newspaper: “Germany is one of our closest allies and we hope that states within Nato are now ready to relocate naval ships to the Sea of Azov in order to assist Ukraine and provide security.”

“We cannot accept this aggressive policy of Russia. First it was Crimea, then eastern Ukraine, now he wants the Sea of Azov. Germany, too, has to ask itself: what will Putin do next if we do not stop him?”

A Nato spokeswoman would not comment directly on Mr Poroshenko’s request, but stressed that “since Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, Nato has substantially increased its presence in the Black Sea”.