MOSCOW — A dispute between Ukraine and Russia in which each accuses the other of violating laws of the sea escalated sharply on Sunday when the Ukrainian Navy said the Russian military opened fire on several of its ships, wounding six sailors and seizing the vessels. The incident in and around the Kerch Strait, a narrow body of water separating the Black and Azov Seas, marked a pivot in the undeclared war, now nearly five years old, between the former members of the Soviet Union. The Ukrainian military has been fighting two separatist movements in eastern Ukraine that are clearly backed by Moscow, though the Russian government has formally denied any direct military intervention. That is in contrast to Sunday’s events, which unfolded as a direct confrontation between Russia and Western-backed Ukrainian armed forces at sea.

Source: New York Times November 26, 2018 00:09 UTC