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Ukraine said on Monday that it downed two Russian military command aircraft over the Sea of Asov, saying it had carried out a 'successful' mission against Moscow's forces. Officials said the country's air force took out an A-50 radar-detection plane worth £260 million, as well as an IL-22 aerial command plane, as they flew over the Sea of Azov on Sunday. The Sea of Azov lies between Russia and Ukraine, but Moscow controls its entire coast after seizing large swathes of southeastern Ukraine during its invasion and annexation of Crimea in 2014. 'Minus an enemy long-range radar detection aircraft, A-50,...

Russia faced a major bombardment today as huge explosions ripped through the occupied port of Berdiansk - with Ukraine believed to be making the most of new missiles gifted by Britain. Footage shows the moment facilities at the port are hit with a suspected Storm Shadow missile, Britain's most potent non-nuclear missile which can strike targets from a range of 150 miles. A huge plume of smoke was seen rising from a location in the port area on the Sea of Azov, in the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia region. Russian state media outlet RT said there had been 'casualties and destruction' from...

Russia has reportedly announced it will close a crucial strait in the Black Sea to foreign warships, including the Royal Navy, for the next six months. -snip- Now sources in Ukraine report that the Russian Federation has announced it will close the Kerch Strait, from next week until October 2021, "for warships and state ships of other countries under the pretext of military exercises". -snip- The Kerch Strait connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, separating the Kerch Peninsula of Crimea in the west from the Taman Peninsula of Russia's Krasnodar Krai in the east.

KYIV (Reuters) - Ukraine said on Saturday it would speed up the construction of a naval base at the port of Berdyansk to prevent what Kyiv calls a gradual attempt by Moscow to take control of the Sea of ​​Azov that flows past Russian-annexed Crimea.Ukraine's newly-appointed defence minister announced the plans after a trip to Berdyansk that followed Western warnings this week about Russian troop movements near Ukraine's borders and a possible attack.Russia has dismissed as inflammatory suggestions Moscow might be weighing an attack and accused Washington of aggressive moves in the Black Sea where Ukraine and the United States...

The Ukrainian president has proposed the imposition of martial law after Russian forces shot at and seized three Ukrainian navy vessels in the Black Sea, injuring six crew members according to Kiev, in a major escalation of tensions between the two countries. On Monday, Ukrainian MPs will vote on whether to declare nationwide martial law in response to the attack following an emergency war cabinet held by the president, Petro Poroshenko. He said that the imposition of martial law would not imply a declaration of war and is only intended for defensive purposes. Ukraine has also requested an emergency UN...

Russia will use facilities on Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula for naval pilot training in the next few years, the Russian defense minister said on Friday. In line with a 1997 bilateral agreement, Russia used the Nitka Naval Pilot Training Center in Ukraine as the only training facility for its naval pilots, but Kiev has been less willing to allow Russian pilots to train at the facility in the past few years and, according to some sources, was even planning to rent it to China. "Russia is interested in the continuation of its naval pilot training at this [the Nitka] facility," Anatoly...