Ukraine bars entry to Russian males, upping ante in conflict

[TexasTowelie]

Source: AP

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian officials on Friday upped the ante in the growing confrontation with Russia, announcing a travel ban for most Russian males and searching the home of an influential cleric of the Russian Orthodox Church.

The long-simmering conflict bubbled over Sunday when Russian border guards rammed into and opened fired on three Ukrainian vessels near the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow annexed in 2014. The vessels were trying to pass through the Kerch Strait on their way to the Sea of Azov. The Russians then captured the ships and 24 crew members.

The Ukrainian parliament on Monday adopted the president's motion to impose martial law in the country for 30 days in the wake of the standoff.

There has been growing hostility between Ukraine and Russia since Moscow's annexation of the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014. Russia has also supported separatists in Ukraine's east with clandestine dispatches of troops and weapons. Fighting there has killed at least 10,000 people since 2014 but eased somewhat after a 2015 truce.

Read more: https://www.meridianstar.com/cnhi_network/ukraine-bars-entry-to-russian-males-upping-ante-in-conflict/article_63a1b6a6-b897-5039-b4e7-5acddf86efa0.html

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

1. A good move, but a little late.

Russian males (military-looking types) are already in Ukraine. Including the part of Ukraine that's not the Crimea peninsula.

Ukraine and NATO have been waffling over membership for decades. Membership might have been a good thing for Ukraine now.