Online published on 21 June, 2022.
On November25, 2018, the Russian Federal Security Service’s Border Service in Crimea said that three Ukrainian warships had violated the international maritime law by illegally entering Russia’s territorial waters of the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait, leading to the seizure of the three ships. The then Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko enacted the National Security and Defense Council’s decision to declare martial law until January 25, 2019. Ukraine was expecting the US and Europe to intervene and cut down to size Russia’s power in the region. The Kyiv government after the incident updated its maritime doctrine and upgraded its defence system with Western help. The military build up prompted Moscow to start the current war in late February 2022. This article notes that, although rhetoric is high against Russia and assistance in money, training and weapons have been provided to the Kyiv government, the West is not completely united to defend Ukraine against Russia. Russia, on the other hand, will neither give up the Sea of Azov nor Crimea, or its influence on Ukraine which it sees as critical to its national security.
