Martial law begins in ten Ukrainian oblasts after Kerch clash
A look back at the day Ukraine's 30-day martial law took effect, following the Kerch Strait incident.
What did it mean for Ukraine when martial law took effect on 28 November 2018? The measure covered 10 oblasts and was set to last 30 days. It followed a confrontation at sea three days earlier.
The trigger
On 25 November 2018, the Russian Federal Security Service coast guard fired upon and captured three Ukrainian Navy vessels in the Kerch Strait. The ships had been trying to pass from the Black Sea into the Sea of Azov on their way to the port of Mariupol. As the background describes it, this was the first time Russian forces had openly engaged Ukrainian forces during the Russo-Ukrainian War.
The Rada's decision
On 26 November 2018, the Verkhovna Rada approved the introduction of martial law, citing the aggression of Russian border vessels against Ukrainian Navy ships in the strait. The regime applied to 10 oblasts from 28 November 2018 for a period of 30 days.
International echoes
The consequences reached beyond Ukraine. On 27 November 2018, U.S. President Donald Trump said he might cancel a planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires because of the maritime clash with Ukraine.
A separate decision
The same day, 28 November 2018, brought an unrelated item of public business: a decree of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine returned the buildings of the Pochaiv Lavra to the Kremenets-Pochaiv Reserve.
Taken together, the reports from those days show the government acting on two tracks: introducing an emergency regime in response to the Kerch Strait events, and continuing routine administrative decisions.
