Putin: Poroshenko Provoked Situation In Kerch Strait Because Of Low Ratings On Eve Of 2019 Presidential Elections

Russian President Vladimir Putin considers the situation that led to the seizure of Ukrainian vessels and their crew was a provocation that President Petro Poroshenko organized because of his low approval ratings on the eve of the 2019 presidential elections.

Putin said this while responding to questions from reporters at an investment forum, the Ukrainian News Agency reports.

"It was definitely a provocation, a provocation organized by the current authorities … and the current president on the eve of the presidential elections due in Ukraine next March. In my opinion, the current president is fifth in the approval ratings. There is a chance that he will not even make the second round. Therefore, it was necessary to do something to exacerbate the situation and create insurmountable obstacles for his competitors, primarily from the opposition," he said.

According to Putin, martial law was not imposed when bigger events occurred in Ukraine.

“Why do I think so and why am I even sure that this is the case? Look, this was an incident in the Black Sea. This is a border incident and nothing more. What happened in 2014 when Crimea decided to join Russia? That was quite another story, a major event. What about the … the civil war in Donbas in southeast Ukraine, where government troops are using tanks, heavy artillery, and even aircraft. It is essentially a war, but martial law was not imposed. However, martial law was imposed because of a small incident in the Black Sea. It is obviously being done on the eve of presidential elections. This is an absolutely obvious fact," he said.

Putin said that Ukrainian naval vessels entered the Sea of Azov without problems in September but they refused to respond to inquiries this time. According to him, the actions of Russian border guards were correct.

"They entered our territorial waters, an area that was within our territorial waters even before the incorporation of Crimea, i.e. this area has always been within our territorial waters. They began to move without responding to inquiries from our border guards. They did not respond to orders to anchor. They were asked to take pilots aboard, but the response was silence. They did not respond at all. How should the border guards have acted? Military vessels invaded the territorial waters of the Russian Federation and did not respond to orders. It was not clear what they were going to do. If the border guards had acted differently, they would all have been brought to justice. They perfectly fulfilled their military duty, their legitimate functions in protecting the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation. I think that in your country you would have acted in the same way. These are obvious things," he said.

Putin also said that the presence of officers from the Security Service of Ukraine on these Ukrainian vessels was a clear sign that the provocation was been prepared in advance and that the plan was take advantage of the situation to impose martial law in Ukraine.

Putin described the situation as "a game inside Ukraine," "a game of aggravation," and the “sale of anti-Russian sentiments."

“The current authorities in Kyiv are selling anti-Russian sentiments successfully. One gets the impression that they can get away with whatever they do. If they demand babies for breakfast today, they will probably be served babies,” he said.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, Poroshenko signed a law approving his decree that imposes martial law in 10 regions from 02:00 p.m. on November 26 to 02:00 p.m. on December 26 on Wednesday.

The parliament has scheduled the next presidential elections for March 31, 2019.