When Ukraine's martial law ended after a month
A look back at the lifting of martial law, which followed the incident near the Kerch Strait involving three Ukrainian Navy vessels.
What did it mean when martial law in Ukraine came to an end? On 27 December 2018, the country was one day past that milestone: as reported on 26 December 2018, martial law ended a month after the attack on three Ukrainian Navy vessels near the Kerch Strait.
The measure had been tied to an incident on 25 November 2018. On that day, the Russian Federal Security Service coast guard fired upon and captured three Ukrainian Navy vessels. The ships had tried to pass from the Black Sea into the Sea of Azov through the strait, on their way to the port of Mariupol.
The incident was the first time Russian forces had openly engaged Ukrainian forces during the Russo-Ukrainian War, a point made in later accounts of the event.
The end of martial law, reported on 26 December 2018, closed a period that began with that confrontation and lasted a month. By 27 December 2018, the country was no longer under the special legal regime that followed the attack.
