On Northern Border, Permission to Fire Into Russia Buoys Ukraine
By ANDREW E. KRAMER
KIEV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s military has been given permission to fire into Russia if it is attacked, a senior Ukrainian official said on Tuesday, a move that could escalate tensions between the two countries.
The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, said the decision was made after a meeting of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council on Monday.
The official said the decision was made in response to a series of incursions by Russian forces into Ukrainian territory, including the seizure of three Ukrainian naval vessels and their crews in the Kerch Strait on Sunday.
The official said the decision was made in consultation with the United States and other allies.
The Ukrainian military has been on high alert since the Kerch Strait incident, and the Ukrainian president, Petro O. Poroshenko, has called for a meeting of the United Nations Security Council to discuss the crisis.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that it had summoned the Ukrainian ambassador to Moscow to protest the decision to allow Ukrainian forces to fire into Russia.
“We consider this decision to be a direct threat to the lives and health of our citizens and military personnel,” the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry said it had also summoned the ambassadors of the United States, Britain, France, Germany and Poland to protest the decision.
The Ukrainian military has been on high alert since the Kerch Strait incident, and the Ukrainian president, Petro O. Poroshenko, has called for a meeting of the United Nations Security Council to discuss the crisis.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that it had summoned the Ukrainian ambassador to Moscow to protest the decision to allow Ukrainian forces to fire into Russia.
“We consider this decision to be a direct threat to the lives and health of our citizens and military personnel,” the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry said it had also summoned the ambassadors of the United States, Britain, France, Germany and Poland to protest the decision.