Ukraine has declared martial law following a minor skirmish with Russian ships in the Kerch Strait. But why would Kiev take such a dramatic move now, five years after declaring itself at war with Russia? Western headlines are once again sounding with warnings about “Russian aggression” after Russian ships opened fire on three Ukrainian military vessels attempting to cross the Kerch Strait on Sunday.... 

Ukrainian sailors, interviewed by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) after the standoff near the Crimean coast, admitted they deliberately violated Russian borders while trying to pass through the Kerch Strait. The FSB has claimed in a statement that the naval standoff in Crimean waters was a “provocative act of the Ukrainian Navy executed upon direct orders by the government in Kiev.”...