Ukraine bars male Russians from entering country

Kiev : Ukraine will not allow Russian men aged 16-60 into the country during martial law, the head of the State Border Service has said amid fears of a Russian invasion.

An exception would be made for "humanitarian cases" such as those travelling to funerals, the official was cited as saying by the BBC on Friday.

Martial law has been imposed in 10 regions bordering Russia for a month.

The move by Ukraine came after Russian forces seized three Ukrainian vessels and 24 sailors in the Black Sea earlier this week.

Following the naval confrontation with Russia, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Thursday urged NATO to deploy warships to Sea of Azov shared by the two nations.

Responding to Poroshenko's request, German Chancellor Angela Merkel had said that there was no military solution to the conflict between Moscow and Kiev and she held Russian President Vladimir Putin responsible for it.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump called off his meeting with Putin over Moscow's seizure of Ukrainian ships.