The US State Department warned Russia about the painful consequences of the conflict in the Sea of ​​Azov

The US State Department official, who attended the meeting of Foreign Ministers of NATO countries, said that until Russia will release Ukrainian sailors detained as a result of the conflict in the Kerch Strait , the United States will increase the price that the Russian Federation will eventually pay.

"Russia must free the crew, otherwise the consequences and pain will only increase over time," the department’s website quoted the representative of the State Department (Translation by The Bell ).

One of the journalists during the discussion noted that recently the risks for Russia have not been increasing, to which the representative of the State Department replied that the United States is currently being worked out with this issue with its European allies.

The official recalled that recently, even before the Kerch incident, the State Department has expressed concerns about Azov and Russia's speeches in the OSCE. “Today, the United States has again stated that we condemn this Russian act of aggression, call it as it is; Crimea is Ukraine; and that Russia’s actions in Kerch are a clear military escalation and violation of international law,” the State Department said.

"The Kerch incident should be a reminder of our European allies that the Northern Stream -2 project is a bad idea," a senior official said. He noted that the construction of the gas pipeline bypassing Ukraine does not help restrain Russian aggression.

On December 3, the head of the diplomacy of the European Union Federica Mogherini noted the coincidence of the interests of the European Union and the USA in the confrontation of Russia on the Ukrainian issue. "In recent weeks, we have seen that we have shared the same interest in solving the problem of Russia's violation of the territorial integrity of Ukraine. Only together Europe and America can resist the challenges that Russia nominates in European territory and in other places," Mogherini said, speaking at the School of Management. John Kennedy Harvard University.

According to Mogherini, the latest events in the Black Sea are "a direct consequence of a clear violation of the basic rules of peaceful coexistence in European territory."

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Teresa May also called for strengthening sanctions against the Russian Federation. “This [incident in the Kerch Strait] is not the only example of Russian aggression, it fits into the paradigm of Russian behavior. The UK leads the EU efforts to introduce sanctions. We will continue to do this by discussing the future steps that can be taken with the EU leaders,” the British Prime Minister said.

On November 25, the Ukrainian Navy reported that the border ships of the Russian Federation, "Contrary to the UN Convention on the Law and Agreement between the two countries about cooperation in the use of the Sea of ​​Azov and the Kerch Strait," carried out "aggressive actions" against the ships of the naval forces of Ukraine - two small armored artillery boats and raid tugboats - which performed a planned transition from the port of Osessa to the Port of Obsessa to the port Port Mariupol.

However, according to Russia, three ships of the Ukrainian naval forces illegally crossed the State border of the Russian Federation and entered territorial waters. As a result, Russian border guards detained three ships of the Ukrainian naval forces of Ukraine Berdyansk, Nikopol and Yana Kapu, using weapons. All 24 Ukrainian sailors were arrested before January 25, 2019 and are suspected in a criminal case, initiated under Part 3 of Art. 322 ("illegal intersection of the state border of Russia") of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which provides for six years in prison.

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on November 26 approved the decree of President Petro Poroshenko on the introduction of martial law in ten border regions of the country from November 28 for 30 days, and the head of state threatened the full -scale war with Russia.