Kyiv's parliament votes for martial law in ten regions
A retrospective on the emergency Verkhovna Rada session that approved a 30-day martial law regime after the Kerch Strait incident.
What did Ukraine's parliament decide when it met in emergency session on 26 November 2018? The Verkhovna Rada approved the introduction of martial law in 10 oblasts for a period of 30 days, to take effect on 28 November 2018.
The vote followed the Kerch Strait incident of 25 November 2018. In that incident, Russian Federal Security Service coast guard vessels fired upon and captured three Ukrainian Navy vessels as they attempted to transit from the Black Sea into the Sea of Azov on their way to the port of Mariupol. As reported at the time, the Russian side had blockaded the Kerch Strait and seized the Ukrainian vessels.
From the security council to parliament
On 25 November 2018, an emergency meeting of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine was convened in response to the blockade and the seizures. Afterwards, President Petro Poroshenko said he would ask the Verkhovna Rada to support a declaration of martial law. The parliament was set to hold its emergency meeting at 4 p.m. local time on 26 November.
The Rada's decision, taken the next day, confirmed the measure for 10 oblasts and set its length at 30 days. The regime was due to begin on 28 November 2018.
Later accounts describe the Kerch Strait incident as the first time Russian forces had openly engaged Ukrainian forces during the Russo-Ukrainian War.
