Russia’s seizure of three Ukrainian warships in the Black Sea is one of the most ominous incidents in Moscow’s nearly five-year campaign of military, political and economic pressure on Kiev. Ukraine says six of its seamen were injured when Russian coast guards opened fire on the ships on Sunday. This is the first time Russia has admitted its own forces, rather than “volunteers” in unmarked uniforms or the Kremlin’s surrogates in east Ukraine, engaged directly with the Ukrainian military. The risk of escalation — with at least the potential to suck in Nato forces — is dangerously high.
俄羅斯在黑海扣押三艘烏克蘭軍艦，是俄近五年來從軍事、政治、經濟多方位打壓烏的行動中最兇險的事件之一。烏克蘭表示，俄海岸警衛隊上週日向其軍艦開火，造成六名船員受傷。這是俄首次承認自己的軍隊——而不是穿著無標誌制服的「志願者」或克里姆林宮在東烏克蘭的代理人——直接與烏克蘭軍隊交火。事件進一步升級的風險非常大，至少有可能導致北約部隊捲入。