Russia's seizure of Ukrainian ships lawful: Kremlin

The Kremlin has defended Russia's seizure of three Ukrainian navy ships off the coast of Crimea, saying the move was lawful and in strict accordance with international and domestic regulations.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday described the actions of the Ukrainian navy as “an invasion of Russian territorial waters,” and accused the Ukrainian vessels of illegally crossing Russia’s sea border and ignoring warnings made by Russian border guards.

"The Russian side acted in strict accordance with the law, both domestic and international. This is a case of trespassing into territorial waters of the Russian Federation by foreign military vessels," Peskov said.

"These foreign military vessels entered Russian territorial waters not answering any queries from our coast guard, ignoring proposals to use piloting services, and so on and so forth," he added.

Peskov also said a criminal case has been opened over the violation of Russia's border, without providing further details.

Earlier in the day, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the incident in the Kerch Strait near Crimea had been organized at the highest political level in Ukraine.

Blaming Kiev for the incident, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Ukraine of a “planned” provocation and of using "dangerous methods" that would put ships in the area at risk.

The ministry statement said the Ukrainian navy had “violated the rules of passage through Russian territorial waters,” adding that Kiev had deliberately provoked the clash in order to create a pretext for new sanctions to be imposed on Moscow.

“Russia has repeatedly warned the Kiev regime and its Western supporters that fanning up the hysteria over the Azov Sea and the Kerch Strait was dangerous. It’s obvious that there was a provocation, carefully planned in terms of location and form, which is aimed at flaring up yet another point of conflict in the region and creating a new pretext to impose more sanctions against Russia,” the statement noted.

The Russian Foreign Ministry also said in the statement that such incidents may have “serious consequences,” and it would “strongly counter” any attempts to undermine the country’s sovereignty and security.

Russia’s RIA news agency reported that a Ukrainian diplomat had been seen entering the Russian Foreign Ministry on Monday, hours after Moscow promised to summon a Ukrainian representative to discuss an incident in the Kerch Strait.

Two Ukrainian armored artillery vessels and a tug boat on Sunday tried to pass through the Kerch Strait in the Azov Sea apparently without prior warning, but were ordered to stop by Russian border guards. A confrontation took place after the Ukrainian navy ships ignored the calls while maneuvering dangerously, ending with the three ships being seized by the Russian side and the injury of six Ukrainian seamen.

SS