The United States encourages provocations by Ukraine and then covers them up, including the recent naval incident in the Kerch Strait, Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia told the UN Security Council.
“Same for the United States — this is the real ‘puppet-master’ behind the entire ‘Maidan theater’ who now encourages and covers up any provocation of Kiev, including the recent one in the Black Sea, willingly delivers arms to the country and pushes it toward [taking] reckless steps,” Nebenzia said on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, the UN Security Council convened to discuss the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, particularly in the Donbas region as well as to address the implementation of the Minsk agreement. Under the accord, the parties to the conflict should commit to the withdrawal of weapons.
On November 25, three ships of the Ukrainian Navy — Berdyansk, Nikopol, and Yany Kapu — crossed the Russian border, entered Russian territorial waters that were temporarily closed, and began moving toward the Kerch Strait, which serves as the entrance into the Sea of Azov. The Ukrainian vessels and their crew were detained by Russia after failing to respond to a lawful demand to stop.