MOSCOW, December 5. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova believes that Washington’s threats against Moscow over the detention of Ukrainian seamen in the Kerch Strait are absurd.

"It reminds me of the saying 'Hurt Me,'" she commented, deriding the statement by the US, who has threatened Russia with 'mounting consequences and pain' if the crews are not released.

The diplomat also pointed to the incorrect translation of this expression by the Russian media. "I saw the original [text]. In fact, this is a compound phrase, which had been poorly constructed. That’s why the translation has appeared to be weird and not really successful," Zakharova stated. "However, it is also unclear what our American partners wanted to say by this."

"All this are actions that are not aimed at improving, but rather aggravating (things)," she stressed. "It looks like a horror movie script."

The diplomat urged the media to be more accurate when translating from foreign languages. "However, this statement by the United States seems absurd, and is impossible to translate," the diplomat added. "However you try, its meaning remains absurd."

Kerch Strait standoff

The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) reported on November 25 that the Ukrainian warships, the Berdyansk, the Nikopol and the Yany Kapu had breached the Russian state border on Sunday morning and later attempted to carry out illegal maneuvers in Russia’s territorial waters later. The Ukrainian vessels ignored the legitimate demands of the Coast Guard of the FSB Border Service and the Black Sea Fleet to stop immediately and end their dangerous action. The Ukrainian warships carried on, blatantly disregarding these orders, which triggered a chase involving some gunfire to stop them. Consequently, the ships were detained in Russian territorial waters.

Moscow branded Kiev’s stunt in the Kerch Strait a dangerous provocation, while the European Union and NATO called for a de-escalation of tensions.

Ukraine in turn imposed martial law across the Vinnytsia, Lugansk, Nikolayev, Odessa, Sumy, Kharkov, Chernigov, Donetsk, Zaporozhye, and Kherson Regions along with the country’s territorial waters in the Azov-Kerch water zone.