That for some days the Ukrainian government of Poroshenko was trying to provoke an armed confrontation with Moscow in the waters in front of the Crimea was evident to all those who analytically follow the events in the area. But the kind of consequences on the international strategic plan could be devastating.
On November 25, two Ukrainian military boats (Nikopol and Berdyansk) and the tugboat YANI PAKU entered what could be considered Russian territorial waters in the Black Sea. The Ukrainian ships would have moved in the direction of the Kerch Strait. According to the statements of the Ukrainian navy, the objective of its military vessels was to reach the port of Mariupol in the Sea of Azov.
The Ukrainian ships deliberately carried out dangerous maneuvers along the coast (Crimea), and disobeyed the warnings of the Russian Federal Security Frontier Supervision Service.
The Ukrainian warships have been intercepted by some SOBOL class patrol boats, the DON cruiser, the MANGUST class patrol boats and the SUZDALETS corvette.
The tugboat Yani Kapu he was rammed by one of the Russian warships.
The largest Russian warship involved in the operation is the Svetlyak-class ship PSKR-927, armed with an AK-176M cannon from 76,2 mm and other weapons.
Further fueling tensions, the Ukrainian navy sent other small GURZA class boats to the place where the three Ukrainian military ships were intercepted. However, the latter would not have approached the Russian territorial waters.
At that point, a group of Russian attack helicopters Ka-52 was risked right near the Kerch Strait.
It is quite obvious that somehow it is intentionally feeding the already high tension in the region causing the Russian coast guard and the related naval forces of the Kremlin.
According to local experts and political figures, Poroshenko is trying to use the possible escalation to get some advantage in the upcoming Ukrainian presidential elections, scheduled in 2018. Ukraine is already struggling with a full-fledged domestic political crisis while the state apparatus is on the verge of a complete economic collapse. Is the war, or an emergency, the only real option for Poroshenko to secure power?
Some Russian politicians compare Poroshenko's actions with the actions of the Saakashvili regime in Georgia, just before the 2008 war in South Ossetia. After that Georgian troops have also fueled the situation in the region with various provocations.
The other peak of tension is in the Donbass region, in the east of Ukraine, where the Ukrainian armed forces continue to perpetrate attacks with commercial drones and to build positions in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and in the People's Republic of Lugansk (LPR) ), despite the formal cease-fire regime established in the area.
Sources:
https://southfront.org/poroshenko-regime-is-provoking-conflict-with-russ...
https://www.unian.info/politics/10317417-mfa-ukraine-admits-new-territor...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPj82aTC1GY&feature=youtu.be
http://tass.com/politics/1032200
https://www.rferl.org/a/sea-of-troubles-azov-emerging-as-tinderbox-in-ru...
