Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has announced the end of martial law in the country's border regions that was imposed last month after Russia seized Ukrainian ships in the Black Sea.Poroshenko said during a military cabinet meeting in Kyiv on December 26. "On November 26, Ukraine's parliament backed Poroshenko's request to introduce martial law after Russian forces fired on Ukrainian ships and seized 24 Ukrainian nationals near the Kerch Strait.The seamen remain in Russian custody and are facing criminal charges of illegally crossing Russia's border.The European Union and the United States have said Russia's actions were illegal and have called on Moscow to immediately return the vessels and their crews to Ukraine.The incident, during which a Russian vessel rammed a Ukrainian Navy tugboat, further escalated the conflict between the ex-Soviet neighbors that flared up in 2014 with Russia's occupation and annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula.Russia has provided military, economic, and political support to separatist militants in eastern Ukraine.
Martial law in Ukraine ends a month after an attack on three Ukrainian Navy vessels near the Kerch Strait.