President Trump said Monday that he does not like what is happening in Ukraine and that he hopes the situation will get “straightened out.”
“We don’t like what’s happening and hopefully it will get straightened out. I know Europe is not — they are not thrilled. They’re working on it too,” Trump told reporters outside the White House Monday afternoon. “We’re all working on it together.”
The Ukrainian military announced Sunday that Russian boats opened fire upon and seized three Ukrainian naval ships and 24 sailors. The two nations have been in an ongoing standoff in the Kerch Strait — a waterway that is of strategic importance for both countries.
US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said Sunday evening that an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting was taking place Monday. At the meeting, Haley characterized the event as “yet another reckless Russian escalation.” The ambassador also demanded that Russia release the sailors.
NATO said Monday that Russia had “no justification” for seizing the Ukrainian ships.
The Kerch Strait connects the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea and runs directly between both Ukraine and Russia. It is important to Ukraine for economic reasons, allowing for the flow of Ukrainian goods inside and outside of the country. The strait is also the quickest access point for Russia to the Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014 during the Obama administration. Russia constructed a bridge over the Kerch Strait, which opened in May.
