Ukrainian President urges NATO to send ships to Sea of Azov

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has urged Nato to send ships to the Sea of Azov following a naval confrontation with Russia off Crimea.

He told Germany's Bild newspaper he hoped the ships could be relocated "to assist Ukraine and provide security".

On Sunday, Russia opened fire on three Ukrainian ships and seized their crews in the Kerch Strait between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.

Nato has expressed "full support" for Ukraine, which is not a member state.

Amid worsening relations on Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Poroshenko of creating the naval "provocation" to boost his ratings ahead of 2019 elections.

President Poroshenko has implemented martial law across Ukraine's border regions for 30 days in response to the crisis.

In the interview with Bild, Poroshenko said Vladimir Putin wanted "nothing less than to occupy the [Azov] sea".

"Germany is one of our closest allies and we hope that states within Nato are now ready to relocate naval ships to the Sea of Azov in order to assist Ukraine and provide security," he said.

"We cannot accept this aggressive policy of Russia. First it was Crimea, then eastern Ukraine, now he wants the Sea of Azov. Germany, too, has to ask itself: What will Putin do next if we do not stop him?"

On Monday, Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg called on Russia to free the Ukrainian ships and sailors and said Moscow should realise the "consequences of its actions".

He said the bloc would continue to provide "political and practical support" to Ukraine, which is a Nato partner country.

Nato did not immediately respond to Poroshenko's latest statement.

"It is undoubtedly a provocation," the Russian president said, adding that it had been organised by Ukraine's authorities "and, I think, the incumbent president in the run-up to the Ukrainian presidential election in March 2019".

Poroshenko has low popularity ratings. Recent polls suggest that only about 10% of the electorate plans to vote for him next year, with and nearly 50% saying they would not vote for him under any circumstances, the Kyiv Post newspaper reported.

Putin added that the Ukrainian president's decision to impose martial law after a mere "border incident" had not even taken place at the height of the conflict with pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine in 2014.

He insisted that Russia's military response was appropriate as the Ukrainians had "trespassed" into Russia's territorial waters.

Ukrainian officials published a map on Wednesday, placing all three Ukrainian boats just outside Crimea's territorial waters at the time they were seized.

The map places all three Ukrainian boats just outside Crimea's territorial waters at the time they were seized

Western governments have backed the Ukrainian government.

On Wednesday the EU strongly condemned Russia's actions but failed to agree on new sanctions against Russia.

After three days of debate, the EU issued a statement expressing "utmost concern about the dangerous increase of tensions" and dismay at the "unacceptable" use of force by Russia.

It called on Russia to release the ships and their crews and respect Ukraine's sovereignty. Poland had wanted new sanctions on Moscow while Germany and France stressed the need to ease tensions.

US President Donald Trump has also said he may cancel a planned meeting with Putin on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires later this week.