Kerch Strait: the day a bridge became a blockade

What happened in the Kerch Strait on 25 November 2018, and why did it prompt Kyiv to reach for martial law?

On that day, Russia stopped three Ukrainian Navy vessels from passing under the Kerch Strait Bridge by blocking the way with a cargo ship. Russia said the Ukrainian vessels had violated its territorial waters and ignored warnings. Ukraine denied that its ships had done anything wrong.

Shots were fired, and the vessels and their crews were seized. Russia said three Ukrainians were wounded; according to Ukraine, six of its sailors were wounded.

The route to Mariupol

According to later accounts, the ships had been attempting to transit from the Black Sea into the Sea of Azov on their way to the port of Mariupol. The same accounts say Russia's Federal Security Service coast guard fired on and captured them, and that it was the first time Russian forces had openly engaged Ukrainian forces during the Russo-Ukrainian War.

Kyiv's response

The same day, an emergency meeting of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council was convened in response to the blockade of the strait and the seizure of the vessels. Afterwards, President Petro Poroshenko said he would ask the Verkhovna Rada to support a declaration of martial law in Ukraine. The parliament was set to hold an emergency meeting at 4 p.m. local time on 26 November.

The two sides gave conflicting accounts of the confrontation, and Ukraine's move toward martial law came within hours of the seizure.