Russia 'partially unblocks' Ukraine ports
Ships have begun heading through the Kerch Strait again towards two key Ukrainian ports, a Ukrainian minister has said, nine days after Russia opened fire on three boats, BBC informs.
Mariupol and Berdyansk were "partially unblocked", said Volodymyr Omelyan.
Russia seized 24 Ukrainian sailors on 25 November in the first open clash between the two states since 2014.
The Ukrainians had initially headed towards Mariupol and were targeted in international waters.
Legally a complete blockade on ships using Ukrainian ports was impossible to justify. So Russia appears to have gone back to the system it had in place before the Black Sea clash of 25 November.
It's what one Ukrainian official calls a "quiet" blockade.
That means some ships doing business with Ukraine are allowed through, but they face lengthy delays at the entrance to the strait.
It's unclear what would happen if Ukraine attempted to send its naval vessels through the strait again.