Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko says the extraordinary military council is sending a bill on introducing martial law to parliament for discussion tomorrow.
Lots of people now thinking along the same lines...
And, on that note, we're now going to close the live blog after what's been a long and hectic day. Please come back tomorrow morning first thing to follow all the latest developments. Until then, you can keep up with all our other Ukraine coverage here.
Ukraine Considering Martial Law After Russia Opens Fire On Black Sea Ships
By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service
KYIV -- Ukrainian lawmakers will hold an extraordinary session on November 26 to consider a military council recommendation to introduce martial law after Russian forces opened fire on a group of Ukrainian ships in the Black Sea off the coast of the Crimean Peninsula.
Speaking at a November 25 meeting of the extraordinary military council, President Petro Poroshenko said he supported the move, though introduction of martial law did not necessarily mean that Ukraine would conduct offensive operations.
Russian forces fired on two warships, wounding six crew members before seizing the vessels along with a Ukrainian Navy tugboat. Poroshenko said 23 Ukrainian sailors were taken captive after the gunfight and that Kyiv had not been in contact with either the detained ships or the sailors.
The announcement of the hostilities on November 25 came on a day of heightened tension after Russia blocked the three Ukrainian Navy ships from passing from the Black Sea into the Sea of Azov via the Kerch Strait.
In response to fears of a major military escalation between the two countries, the United Nations Security Council said it will hold an emergency meeting on November 26, U.S. ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said in a tweet.
The AFP news agency quoted diplomatic sources as saying the meeting was requested by both Ukraine and Russia.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Ukrainian authorities of using "gangster tactics" in the Kerch Strait -- first a provocation, then pressure, and finally accusations of aggression.
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), which oversees the country's border-guard service, said its forces fired weapons at the Ukrainian Navy ships to get them to stop after they had illegally entered Russia's territorial waters.
"In order to stop the Ukrainian military ships, weapons were used," the FSB said. It also confirmed that three Ukrainian Navy ships were “boarded and searched."
But the Ukrainian Navy said its vessels -- including two small-sized artillery boats -- were attacked by Russian coast guard ships as they were leaving the 12-mile zone of the Kerch Strait and moving back into the Black Sea.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said it considered Russia's "aggressive actions" to be a violation of international law that would be met with "an international and diplomatic legal response."
Meanwhile, angry demonstrators were gathering in front of Russia's embassy in Kyiv late on November 25 after Kyiv announced the attack against the Ukrainian Navy ships.
Earlier on November 25, Kyiv said a Russian coast-guard vessel rammed the Ukrainian Navy tugboat in the same area as three Ukrainian ships approached the Kerch Strait in an attempt to reach the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol on the Sea of Azov.
READ THE FULL STORY HERE.
WATCH: A video posted on Facebook by Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov that appears to show the Russian coast-guard vessel ramming the Ukrainian Navy tugboat: