At the initiative of the German side, President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed by telephone the actions of Ukraine in the Azov-Black Sea area on November 25. The Russian president stressed that the Ukrainian side had grossly violated the norms of international law, and that its military vessels deliberately ignored the rules of peaceful passage in the territorial sea of ??the Russian Federation.

Putin also expressed serious concern about the decision of Kiev to declare martial law and bring the Ukrainian armed forces on full alert..

“All this is clearly undertaken with regard to the election campaign in Ukraine,” the Kremlin’s website underlines.. The President added that he hopes that Berlin will be able to influence the authorities of Ukraine and keep them from following ill-considered steps.. In turn, the Russian border guards are ready to give additional explanations about how the events in the Kerch Strait took place.. Earlier, border guards detained three Ukrainian ships that violated the Russian border and ignored the legal demands of border guards..