Russia fired on Ukrainian warships and injured some of their crew members on Sunday, marking a dramatic renewal of tensions between the former Soviet neighbours near the peninsula of Crimea that Russia annexed four years ago.
Ukraine said Russian warships opened fire on a group of its military vessels in neutral waters that had previously tried to enter the Kerch Strait. Six men were wounded as Russia “fired to kill,” while three ships were captured, according to Ukraine’s Navy. Ukraine's parliament will hold an emergency session on Monday at 4pm in Kiev to discuss whether to impose martial law.
Russia said it used all necessary measures to stop Ukrainian vessels that had violated its waters and engaged in “dangerous manoeuvres.” It had earlier cut off access to the strait “for security reasons.”
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Vladimir Putin's plan of global destabilisation falters as respect for him plummets
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Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko contacted the European Union and Nato about possible additional sanctions over what he called "criminal acts."
He stressed that martial law – a measure that was not even taken at the height of Ukraine's hostilities with Russia – would not mean military mobilisation or war. The foreign ministry urged an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council.
Sunday’s incident is one of the worst flare-ups since a 2015 truce to halt violence in the Russian-backed conflict in Ukraine’s easternmost regions and comes less than a week before a Group of 20 leaders’ summit in Buenos Aires. Tensions between the two neighbours have contributed to ties between Russia and the West plummeting to the worst since the Cold War.
Facing a re-election bid next year, Mr Poroshenko cannot afford to appear weak, even though his navy is far smaller than Russia's. At the same time, Ukraine's supporters in the west have little enthusiasm for a new escalation of the conflict that broke out after protesters ousted the country's Kremlin-backed leader and demanded closer ties with the EU.
"We expect Russia to restore freedom of passage at the Kerch strait and urge all to act with utmost restraint to de-escalate the situation immediately," an EU spokesman said in a statement. Nato said separately that it is closely monitoring developments.
Russia's construction of a bridge across the Kerch Strait – the entrance to the Azov Sea – limited ship traffic to the Ukrainian port of Mariupol, an important freight hub. Russia's FSB said the three Ukrainian ships had been "detained" for violating the Russian border. It said the wounded sailors were treated and their injuries are not life threatening.
Commenting on Facebook, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called the events a “provocation,” accusing Ukraine of setting it all up to accuse Russia of aggression. Ukraine says it warned Russia in advance of the passage of its vessels.
The Atlantic Council, a Washington-based think tank, said Russia was probably to blame for the flare-up. John Herbst, director of the council’s Eurasia Center and a former US ambassador to Ukraine, said Russia “would like to raise the cost on the Ukrainian economy” and “entice Ukraine into taking some sort of military action to protect shipping to and from its ports.”
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Revibe
Started: 2022
Founders: Hamza Iraqui and Abdessamad Ben Zakour
Based: UAE
Industry: Refurbished electronics
Funds raised so far: $10m
Investors: Flat6Labs, Resonance and various others
The specs
Powertrain: Single electric motor
Power: 201hp
Torque: 310Nm
Transmission: Single-speed auto
Battery: 53kWh lithium-ion battery pack (GS base model); 70kWh battery pack (GF)
Touring range: 350km (GS); 480km (GF)
Price: From Dh129,900 (GS); Dh149,000 (GF)
On sale: Now
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: OneOrder
Started: March 2022
Founders: Tamer Amer and Karim Maurice
Based: Cairo
Number of staff: 82
Investment stage: Series A
Biggest applause
Asked to rate Boris Johnson's leadership out of 10, Mr Sunak awarded a full 10 for delivering Brexit — remarks that earned him his biggest round of applause of the night. "My views are clear, when he was great he was great and it got to a point where we need to move forward. In delivering a solution to Brexit and winning an election that's a 10/10 - you've got to give the guy credit for that, no-one else could probably have done that."
Saturday's results
Brighton 1-1 Leicester City
Everton 1-0 Cardiff City
Manchester United 0-0 Crystal Palace
Watford 0-3 Liverpool
West Ham United 0-4 Manchester City
UAE medallists at Asian Games 2023
Gold
Magomedomar Magomedomarov – Judo – Men’s +100kg
Khaled Al Shehi – Jiu-jitsu – Men’s -62kg
Faisal Al Ketbi – Jiu-jitsu – Men’s -85kg
Asma Al Hosani – Jiu-jitsu – Women’s -52kg
Shamma Al Kalbani – Jiu-jitsu – Women’s -63kg
Silver
Omar Al Marzooqi – Equestrian – Individual showjumping
Bishrelt Khorloodoi – Judo – Women’s -52kg
Khalid Al Blooshi – Jiu-jitsu – Men’s -62kg
Mohamed Al Suwaidi – Jiu-jitsu – Men’s -69kg
Balqees Abdulla – Jiu-jitsu – Women’s -48kg
Bronze
Hawraa Alajmi – Karate – Women’s kumite -50kg
Ahmed Al Mansoori – Cycling – Men’s omnium
Abdullah Al Marri – Equestrian – Individual showjumping
Team UAE – Equestrian – Team showjumping
Dzhafar Kostoev – Judo – Men’s -100kg
Narmandakh Bayanmunkh – Judo – Men’s -66kg
Grigorian Aram – Judo – Men’s -90kg
Mahdi Al Awlaqi – Jiu-jitsu – Men’s -77kg
Saeed Al Kubaisi – Jiu-jitsu – Men’s -85kg
Shamsa Al Ameri – Jiu-jitsu – Women’s -57kg
Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
SPECS
Engine: Two-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 235hp
Torque: 350Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Price: From Dh167,500 ($45,000)
On sale: Now
COMPANY PROFILE
Company: Eco Way
Started: December 2023
Founder: Ivan Kroshnyi
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Electric vehicles
Investors: Bootstrapped with undisclosed funding. Looking to raise funds from outside
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League quarter-final (first-leg score):
Juventus (1) v Ajax (1), Tuesday, 11pm UAE
Match will be shown on BeIN Sports
The Kitchen
Director: Daniel Kaluuya, Kibwe Tavares
Stars: Kane Robinson, Jedaiah Bannerman, Hope Ikpoku Jnr, Fiona Marr
Rating: 3/5
Kill
Director: Nikhil Nagesh Bhat
Starring: Lakshya, Tanya Maniktala, Ashish Vidyarthi, Harsh Chhaya, Raghav Juyal
Rating: 4.5/5
FULL RESULTS
Middleweight
Eslam Syaha (EGY) bt Robin Roos (SWE)
Welterweight
Alex da Silva (BRA) bt Bagyash Zharmamatov (KGZ)
Murodov Samandar (TJK) bt Lucas Sampaio (BRA)
Shakhban Alkhasov (RUS) bt Salamat Orozakunov (KGZ)
Khotamjon Boynazarov (UZB) bt Mikail Bayram (FRA)
Bantamweight
Jieleyisi Baergeng (CHN) bt Xavier Alaoui (CAN)
Flyweight
Rashid Vagabov (RUS) bt Lun Qui (CHN)
Yamato Fujita (JPN) bt Furkatbek Yokubov (UZB)
Aaron Aby (WLS) bt Joevincent So (PHI)
Catchweight 176lb
Mark Hulm (RSA) bt Erkin Darmenov (KAZ)
Catchweight 160lb
Rustam Serbiev (BEL) bt Anar Huseyinov (AZE)
Catchweight 150lb
Islam Reda (EGY) bt Ernie Braca (PHI)
Flyweight (women)
Baktygul Kurmanbekova (KGZ) bt Maria Eugenia Zbrun (ARG)
if you go
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct from the UAE to Seoul from Dh3,775 return, including taxes
The package
Ski Safari offers a seven-night ski package to Korea, including five nights at the Dragon Valley Hotel in Yongpyong and two nights at Seoul CenterMark hotel, from £720 (Dh3,488) per person, including transfers, based on two travelling in January
The info
Visit www.gokorea.co.uk
Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire
Director: Zack Snyder
Stars: Sofia Boutella, Djimon Hounsou, Ed Skrein, Michiel Huisman, Charlie Hunnam
Rating: 2/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Haltia.ai
Started: 2023
Co-founders: Arto Bendiken and Talal Thabet
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: AI
Number of employees: 41
Funding: About $1.7 million
Investors: Self, family and friends
TWISTERS
Director:+Lee+Isaac+Chung
Starring:+Glen+Powell,+Daisy+Edgar-Jones,+Anthony+Ramos
Rating:+2.5/5
Astroworld
Travis Scott
Grand Hustle/Epic/Cactus Jack
Juventus v Napoli, Sunday, 10.45pm (UAE)
Match on Bein Sports
Russia's Muslim Heartlands
Dominic Rubin, Oxford
Wonka
Director: Paul King
Starring: Timothee Chalamet, Olivia Colman, Hugh Grant
Rating: 2/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Almouneer
Started: 2017
Founders: Dr Noha Khater and Rania Kadry
Based: Egypt
Number of staff: 120
Investment: Bootstrapped, with support from Insead and Egyptian government, seed round of
$3.6 million led by Global Ventures
Correspondents
By Tim Murphy
(Grove Press)
MATCH INFO
Chelsea 4 (Mount 18',Werner 44', Hudson-Odoi 49', Havertz 85')
Morecambe 0
Emergency phone numbers in the UAE
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries