UN Security Council to hold emergency meeting over tensions between Russia and Ukraine

NEW YORK, (Patria) - The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Monday due to military tensions between Ukraine and Russia, which confirmed on Sunday that it seized three Ukrainian ships in the Kerch Strait, diplomatic sources told Telegram.

According to the same sources, both Russia and Ukraine requested the meeting. Moscow requested that the meeting be held at 5 PM, a diplomat told AFP.

Kyiv called the seizure of the ships a "crazy act by Russia against Ukraine," claiming the "attack" was "premeditated." Moscow confirmed the "use of weapons," claiming that the Ukrainian ships were "caught in an illegal act in Russian territorial waters."

Three Ukrainian soldiers were wounded in the incident, Moscow announced, while the Ukrainian army announced that six were wounded. The Kerch Strait, which connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, is strategically important to both Russia and Ukraine.

A bilateral agreement gives Ukraine and Russia the right to use the Sea of Azov, which is connected to the Black Sea by a narrow sea passage, the Kerch Strait. Tensions in the area have escalated since Russia annexed Ukrainian Crimea in 2014.

The European Union and NATO have called for de-escalation of tensions in the Sea of Azov and have asked Moscow to allow freedom of passage through the Kerch Strait.