Trump questions Putin meeting as Ukraine prepares for martial law
A look back at the diplomatic fallout and the domestic measures that followed the Kerch Strait clash.
What did the Kerch Strait clash mean for diplomacy and for Ukraine's own politics? On 27 November 2018, U.S. President Donald Trump said he might cancel his planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires that week, citing Russia's maritime clash with Ukraine.
The incident had taken place on 25 November 2018, when the Russian Federal Security Service coast guard fired upon and captured three Ukrainian Navy vessels. The ships had been attempting to pass from the Black Sea into the Sea of Azov on their way to the port of Mariupol. It was the first time that Russian forces had openly engaged Ukrainian forces during the Russo-Ukrainian War.
Martial law approved
Kyiv's response had moved quickly. On 25 November, an emergency meeting of the National Security and Defense Council was convened over the Russian blockade of the Kerch Strait and the seizure of the vessels. President Petro Poroshenko then said he would ask the Verkhovna Rada to support a declaration of martial law.
On 26 November, the Rada approved the introduction of martial law in 10 oblasts. It was to take effect on 28 November 2018 and last 30 days.
By 27 November, therefore, the dispute had both an international and a domestic dimension: the American president was openly weighing the fate of a summit meeting with Moscow, while Ukraine was a day away from the start of martial law in ten of its regions.
