DISINFO: Ukraine is preparing a new provocation in the Kerch Strait
SUMMARY
Ukraine is preparing a new provocation in the Kerch Strait. Currently, three new military boats of the Ukrainian navy, and according to some information, with NATO officers on board, are planning to break through the Kerch Strait.
RESPONSE
No evidence given, neither about the claims of a planned provocation, nor about NATO personnel being aboard. This is consistent with recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about the Azov Sea and presidential elections in Ukraine. The article used as a source for the claims about the alleged provocation also refutes this information: "Meanwhile, the border service of the Federal Security Service of Russia told the channel that they did not have any evidence of this information. Sources in the Ukrainian Navy said to "Strana" that ships will not go to the Kerch Strait". The use of the Kerch strait and the Sea of Azov is regulated by a bilateral treaty between Russia and Ukraine, signed in 2003 and ratified by Russia in 2004. According to the document, the Sea of Azov is considered to be the “internal waters” of both Russia and Ukraine.