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Kerch Strait incident

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Kerch Strait incident
Part of the Russo-Ukrainian War
Yani Kapu tugboat attacked by Don patrol boat.png
Yany Kapu tugboat rammed by Don patrol boat as seen by Ukrainian Gyurza-M artillery boat
Date25 November 2018
LocationCoordinates: 44°51′00″N 36°23′04″E / 44.85000°N 36.38444°E / 44.85000; 36.38444
ActionRussian Coast Guard patrol boats intercept Ukrainian Navy boats and block the strait[2]
Result
  • Russian Border Guard captures three Ukrainian naval vessels
  • Ukraine declared regional martial law starting on 28 November 2018 and ending 27 December[3][4][5]
  • Ukraine bans entry to all male Russian nationals aged 16–60 for the period of the martial law with exceptions for humanitarian purposes[6]
  • Ukraine claims that Russia blocked vessels from sailing to Ukrainian ports (denied by Russia)[7]
Belligerents

 Russia

 Ukraine

Strength
10 ships:
Sobol patrol boats
(PS Izumrud & PS Don)>
Aircraft:
2 Ka-52
2 Su-25
2 Gyurza-M artillery boats (Berdyansk & Nikopol)
1 tugboat (Yany Kapu)
Casualties and losses
2 ships slightly damaged 24 crew captured[8] (3 injured)
3 ships captured (2 gunboats, 1 tugboat; two of the ships damaged, lost engines)[9][10][11]
Kerch Strait is located in Black Sea
Kerch Strait
Kerch Strait
Location within Black Sea

The Kerch Strait incident was an international incident that occurred on 25 November 2018 in the Kerch Strait, during which the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) coast guard fired upon and captured three Ukrainian Navy vessels after they attempted to transit from the Black Sea into the Sea of Azov through the strait on their way to the port of Mariupol.[9][12] It was the first time that Russian forces had openly engaged Ukrainian forces during the Russo-Ukrainian War.

In 2014, Russia had annexed the nearby Crimean Peninsula, which is predominantly internationally recognised as Ukrainian territory. It later constructed the Crimean Bridge across the strait. Under a 2003 treaty, the strait and the Azov Sea are intended to be the shared territorial waters of both countries, and freely accessible.[9][13][14] Russia, in turn, insists that, while the 2003 treaty remains legally valid, Ukrainian ships must ask for permission before entering Russian waters along the perimeter of Crimea as any transnational water crossing, as regulated by the Law of the Sea Treaty.[15] The annexation of Crimea by Russia is not recognized by Ukraine, therefore Ukraine holds that the invocation of an international treaty with regard to Crimean waters is illegitimate.[16]

As the flotilla, which consisted of two gunboats and a tugboat, approached the Kerch Strait, the Russian coast guard said they repeatedly asked the Ukrainian vessels to leave what they referred to as "Russian territorial waters". They said that the vessels had not followed the formal procedure for passage through the strait, that the Ukrainian ships had been manoeuvring dangerously, and that they were not responding to radio communications.[9][17][18] Ukraine said that it had given advance notice to the Russians that the vessels would be moving through the strait, that the ships had made radio contact with the Russians, but received no response, and cited the 2003 treaty against the assertion that the ships had entered Russian territorial waters.[19][20][21] The Russians tried to halt the Ukrainian ships, but they continued moving in the direction of the bridge. As they neared the bridge, the Russian authorities placed a large cargo ship under it, blocking passage into the Azov Sea. The Ukrainian ships remained moored in the strait for eight hours, before turning back to return to port in Odessa. The Russian coast guard pursued them as they left the area, and later fired upon and seized the vessels in international waters off the coast of Crimea.[17][22][9][23][24] Three Ukrainian crew members were injured in the clash, and all twenty-four Ukrainian sailors from the captured ships were detained by Russia.[9][8][25]

The Ukrainian president characterised the incident as a potential precursor to a Russian invasion, and declared martial law along the border with Russia and in Black Sea coastal areas, which expired on 26 December 2018.[26][27] The Russian government called the incident a deliberate provocation by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko ahead of the 2019 Ukrainian presidential election.[28] The incident took place a few days before the 2018 G20 Buenos Aires summit. Western leaders referred to it when they spoke of sanctions against Russia.

Discover more about Kerch Strait incident related topics

Kerch Strait

Kerch Strait

The Kerch Strait is a strait in Eastern Europe. It connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, separating the Kerch Peninsula of Crimea in the west from the Taman Peninsula of Russia's Krasnodar Krai in the east. The strait is 3.1 kilometres (1.9 mi) to 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) wide and up to 18 metres (59 ft) deep. The most important harbor, the Crimean city of Kerch, gives its name to the strait, formerly known as the Cimmerian Bosporus. It has also been called the Straits of Yenikale after the Yeni-Kale fortress in Kerch.

Russia

Russia

Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering 17,098,246 square kilometres (6,601,670 sq mi), and encompassing one-eighth of Earth's inhabitable landmass. Russia extends across eleven time zones and shares land boundaries with fourteen countries. It is the world's ninth-most populous country and Europe's most populous country, with a population of over 147 million people. The country's capital and largest city is Moscow. Saint Petersburg is Russia's cultural centre and second-largest city. Other major urban areas include Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod, and Kazan.

Federal Security Service

Federal Security Service

The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) is the principal security forces of Russia and the main successor agency to the Soviet Union's KGB; its immediate predecessor was the Federal Counterintelligence Service (FSK) which was reorganized into the FSB in 1995. The three major structural successor components of the former KGB that remain administratively independent of the FSB are the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), the Federal Protective Service (FSO), and the Main Directorate of Special Programs of the President of the Russian Federation (GUSP).

Coast Guard (Russia)

Coast Guard (Russia)

The Coast Guard of the Border Service of the FSB, previously known as the Maritime Units of the KGB Border Troops, is the coast guard of Russia.

Black Sea

Black Sea

The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine. The Black Sea is supplied by major rivers, principally the Danube, Dnieper, and Don. Consequently, while six countries have a coastline on the sea, its drainage basin includes parts of 24 countries in Europe.

Mariupol

Mariupol

Mariupol is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. Since May 2022, Mariupol has been occupied by Russian forces. It is situated on the northern coast (Pryazovia) of the Sea of Azov, at the mouth of the Kalmius River. Prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it was the tenth-largest city in the country and the second-largest city in Donetsk Oblast, with an estimated population of 425,681 people in January 2022, however Ukrainian authorities estimate its current population to be approximately 100,000.

Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation

Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation

In February and March 2014, Russia invaded and subsequently annexed the Crimean Peninsula, taking it from Ukraine. This event took place in the aftermath of the Revolution of Dignity and is part of the wider Russo-Ukrainian War.

Crimean Bridge

Crimean Bridge

The Crimean Bridge, also called Kerch Strait Bridge or Kerch Bridge, is a pair of parallel bridges, one for a four-lane road and one for a double-track railway, spanning the Kerch Strait between the Taman Peninsula of Krasnodar Krai in Russia and the Kerch Peninsula of Crimea. Built by the Russian Federation after the annexation of Crimea at the start of 2014, the bridge cost ₽227.92 billion (US$3.7 billion) and has a length of 19 km (12 mi), making it the longest bridge in Europe and the longest bridge ever constructed by Russia.

Martial law in Ukraine

Martial law in Ukraine

The legal basis for the introduction of martial law in Ukraine is the Constitution of Ukraine, the Law of Ukraine "On the legal status of martial law" and presidential decrees about the introduction of martial law. Modern-day martial law has been introduced two times in Ukraine.

Petro Poroshenko

Petro Poroshenko

Petro Oleksiyovych Poroshenko is a Ukrainian businessman and politician who served as the fifth president of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019. Poroshenko served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2009 to 2010, and as the Minister of Trade and Economic Development in 2012. From 2007 until 2012, he headed the Council of Ukraine's National Bank. He was elected president on 25 May 2014, receiving 54.7% of the votes cast in the first round, thus winning outright and avoiding a run-off. During his presidency, Poroshenko led the country through the first phase of the war in Donbas, pushing the Russian separatist forces into the Donbas Region. He began the process of integration with the European Union by signing the European Union–Ukraine Association Agreement.

2019 Ukrainian presidential election

2019 Ukrainian presidential election

The 2019 Ukrainian presidential election was held on 31 March and 21 April in a two-round system.

2018 G20 Buenos Aires summit

2018 G20 Buenos Aires summit

The 2018 G20 Buenos Aires summit was the thirteenth meeting of Group of Twenty (G20), which was held on 30 November and 1 December 2018 in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was the first G20 summit to be hosted in South America.

Background

Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.[26] The annexation is not officially recognised by the United Nations.[29][30]

The Kerch Strait connects the Sea of Azov with the Black Sea, and is formed by the coasts of the Russian Taman Peninsula and occupied Crimea. It is the sole access point for ships travelling to and from Ukraine's eastern port cities, most notably Mariupol. While both Ukraine and Russia agreed to the principle of freedom of movement through the strait and the Sea of Azov in 2003 following the Tuzla Island incident,[13] Russia has controlled both sides of the strait since the Crimean annexation.[11] Immediately Russia announced the construction of the Crimean Bridge that would span the Kerch Strait.[31] The bridge's construction took place without Ukraine's consent and was criticised by Ukraine and other countries, which called it illegal.[32] During its construction and since completion, it was accompanied by frequent freedom of movement restrictions, which was regarded by Ukrainian and American governments as being used by Russia as part of a creeping hybrid blockade of Ukrainian ports in the Azov Sea to impede maritime transit and destabilize Ukraine.[33][34][35][36][37]

Average duration of artificial detention by the Russian Federation of vessels going to the Ukrainian ports of the Sea of Azov 2018
Average duration of artificial detention by the Russian Federation of vessels going to the Ukrainian ports of the Sea of Azov 2018

Following the opening of the bridge in May 2018, Russian inspections of ships have risen sharply. These incidents, some of which occurred only 5–7 miles from the Ukrainian coast, incurred transit delays on Ukrainian shipping with some reportedly being forced to wait between three and seven days before being allowed through.[33][38] Ukrainian reported that in 2018 losses due to increase in cargo shipping cost associated with Russian measures has reached $360 million. Under the 2003 treaty, both Russia and Ukraine have the right to inspect vessels sailing into or out of the Sea of Azov.[39] Ukraine has said that the increase in inspections by the Russian coast guard represents an abuse of that right.[14]

According to the Defense News, "From Russia's perspective, tensions began flaring in March, when Ukrainian coast guard vessels in the Sea of Azov seized the Nord, a Russian-flagged fishing boat operating out of the Crimean city of Kerch."[21] In March 2018, Ukrainian border guards detained in the Sea of Azov the fishing vessel Nord, accusing the crew of entering "territory, which has been under a temporary occupation".[40] The captain of the Nord, Vladimir Gorbenko, is facing up to five years in prison.[41]

In late September, the Ukrainian Navy launched an operation to move the search-and-rescue ship Donbas and the tugboat Korets [uk] from Odessa to Mariupol.[42] The operation was the first deployment of Ukrainian Navy ships to the Kerch Strait area since the Russian annexation of Crimea.[43] The vessels proceeded from Odesa with the 48-year old Donbas towing the 45-year old Korets. Commanded by Dmytro Kovalenko, Ukrainian Naval Forces Deputy Chief of Staff, the ships radioed their intention to enter the Azov Sea via the Kerch Strait as they approached it on 23 September, but did not follow the official procedure to request permission. According to Kovalenko, this was an intentional form of "naval diplomacy", carried out with the aim of asserting the Ukrainian claim to the surrounding waters. While the ships received pilot services from the Kerch port authority free of charge, they were also tailed by at least 13 Russian vessels, and flown over by Russian aircraft.[42] Ultimately, the Ukrainian vessels complied with transit procedures which did not require a request for permission to transit,[44][45] Russia did not hinder the ships' passage under the Crimean Bridge, and they successfully reached Mariupol. In an interview with the Kyiv Post, Ukrainian naval expert Taras Chmut said that he thought that Russians had not expected the Ukrainian operation, and so decided to take the least risky option by allowing them through. He also said "For the first time, we didn't just react to the Russians’ steps, but started to set our own game rules".[43] The ships allowed Ukraine Navy to provide escort to cargo ships halting Russian inspections of vessels in the middle of the Sea of Azov until November.

EU Commissioner for Security Sir Julian King said that Russia had staged a year-long disinformation campaign in order to "soften up" public opinion in preparation for the incident. According to King, numerous rumours were spread about the plans of the Ukrainian authorities, including that the Ukrainian government had begun dredging the Azov Sea in preparation for the arrival of a NATO fleet, that it intended to infect the Black Sea with cholera, and that it planned to blow up the Crimean Bridge with a nuclear bomb.[46]

Pavel Felgenhauer, a Moscow-based defense analyst and columnist for Novaya Gazeta, speculated that Putin's government instigated the incident out of concern that Ukraine's naval bases in the Sea of Azov might eventually host visiting NATO patrols.[21]

Discover more about Background related topics

2003 Tuzla Island conflict

2003 Tuzla Island conflict

2003 Tuzla Island conflict is a crisis in Russia–Ukraine relations at the end of 2003 caused by disputes over the ownership of Tuzla Island and the construction by Russia of a dam in the Kerch Strait to Tuzla Island. The dispute raised fears of an armed confrontation.

Russo-Ukrainian War

Russo-Ukrainian War

The Russo-Ukrainian War is an international conflict between Russia and Russian-backed separatists, against Ukraine, which began in February 2014. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine and supported pro-Russian separatists fighting the Ukrainian military in the Donbas war. The first eight years of conflict also included naval incidents, cyberwarfare, and heightened political tensions. In February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Crimean Bridge

Crimean Bridge

The Crimean Bridge, also called Kerch Strait Bridge or Kerch Bridge, is a pair of parallel bridges, one for a four-lane road and one for a double-track railway, spanning the Kerch Strait between the Taman Peninsula of Krasnodar Krai in Russia and the Kerch Peninsula of Crimea. Built by the Russian Federation after the annexation of Crimea at the start of 2014, the bridge cost ₽227.92 billion (US$3.7 billion) and has a length of 19 km (12 mi), making it the longest bridge in Europe and the longest bridge ever constructed by Russia.

Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation

Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation

In February and March 2014, Russia invaded and subsequently annexed the Crimean Peninsula, taking it from Ukraine. This event took place in the aftermath of the Revolution of Dignity and is part of the wider Russo-Ukrainian War.

Kerch Strait

Kerch Strait

The Kerch Strait is a strait in Eastern Europe. It connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, separating the Kerch Peninsula of Crimea in the west from the Taman Peninsula of Russia's Krasnodar Krai in the east. The strait is 3.1 kilometres (1.9 mi) to 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) wide and up to 18 metres (59 ft) deep. The most important harbor, the Crimean city of Kerch, gives its name to the strait, formerly known as the Cimmerian Bosporus. It has also been called the Straits of Yenikale after the Yeni-Kale fortress in Kerch.

Sea of Azov

Sea of Azov

The Sea of Azov is an inland shelf sea in Eastern Europe connected to the Black Sea by the narrow Strait of Kerch, and is sometimes regarded as a northern extension of the Black Sea. The sea is bounded by Russia on the east, and by Ukraine on the northwest and southwest, currently under Russian occupation. It is an important access route for Central Asia, from the Caspian Sea via the Volga-Don Canal.

Black Sea

Black Sea

The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine. The Black Sea is supplied by major rivers, principally the Danube, Dnieper, and Don. Consequently, while six countries have a coastline on the sea, its drainage basin includes parts of 24 countries in Europe.

Mariupol

Mariupol

Mariupol is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. Since May 2022, Mariupol has been occupied by Russian forces. It is situated on the northern coast (Pryazovia) of the Sea of Azov, at the mouth of the Kalmius River. Prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it was the tenth-largest city in the country and the second-largest city in Donetsk Oblast, with an estimated population of 425,681 people in January 2022, however Ukrainian authorities estimate its current population to be approximately 100,000.

Hybrid warfare

Hybrid warfare

Hybrid warfare is a theory of military strategy, first proposed by Frank Hoffman, which employs political warfare and blends conventional warfare, irregular warfare, and cyberwarfare with other influencing methods, such as fake news, diplomacy, lawfare and foreign electoral intervention. By combining kinetic operations with subversive efforts, the aggressor intends to avoid attribution or retribution. The concept of hybrid warfare has been criticized by a number of academics and practitioners due to its alleged vagueness, its disputed constitutive elements, and its alleged historical distortions.

Russia

Russia

Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering 17,098,246 square kilometres (6,601,670 sq mi), and encompassing one-eighth of Earth's inhabitable landmass. Russia extends across eleven time zones and shares land boundaries with fourteen countries. It is the world's ninth-most populous country and Europe's most populous country, with a population of over 147 million people. The country's capital and largest city is Moscow. Saint Petersburg is Russia's cultural centre and second-largest city. Other major urban areas include Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod, and Kazan.

Defense News

Defense News

Defense News is a website and newspaper about the politics, business, and technology of national security published by Sightline Media Group. Founded in 1986, Defense News serves an audience of senior military, government, and industry decision-makers throughout the world.

Maritime pilot

Maritime pilot

A maritime pilot, marine pilot, harbor pilot, port pilot, ship pilot, or simply pilot, is a mariner who maneuvers ships through dangerous or congested waters, such as harbors or river mouths. Maritime pilots are regarded as skilled professionals in navigation as they are required to know immense details of waterways such as depth, currents, and hazards, as well as displaying expertise in handling ships of all types and size. Obtaining the title 'maritime pilot' requires being an expert ship handler licensed or authorised by a recognised pilotage authority.

Event

Positions of the Ukrainian vessels in the Kerch Strait on 25 November 2018 according to Bellingcat
Positions of the Ukrainian vessels in the Kerch Strait on 25 November 2018 according to Bellingcat
25 November 2018 Kerch Strait incident map
25 November 2018 Kerch Strait incident map

On the morning of 25 November, three Ukrainian naval vessels (Gyurza-M-class artillery boats Berdyansk [uk], Nikopol [uk], and the tugboat Yany Kapu [uk]) attempted to travel from the Black Sea port of Odessa in south-western Ukraine to the Azov Sea port of Mariupol in eastern Ukraine.[9] Agents of the Ukrainian SBU security service were present on board the ships; according to Ukraine they were providing ordinary counter-intelligence coverage.[25] As they approached the Kerch Strait, Russian Coast Guard boats accused the Ukrainian ships of illegally entering Russian territorial waters, and ordered them to leave. When the Ukrainians refused, citing the 2003 Russo-Ukrainian treaty on freedom of navigation in the relevant area, the Russian boats attempted to intercept them, and rammed the tugboat Yany Kapu several times.[9][47] When they tried to ram the more agile gunboats, two Russian ships collided, and the Russian Coast Guard Rubin-class patrol boat Izumrud was damaged.[48] The Ukrainian naval vessels then continued their journey, stopping near the anchorage 471 waiting zone, about 14 kilometres (9 mi) from the Crimean Bridge, and remained there for the next eight hours.[17] During this time, the Russians placed a large cargo ship under the bridge, blocking the route into the Sea of Azov.[22][24][9][49] Concurrently, Russia scrambled two fighter jets and two helicopters to patrol the strait.[9] In the evening, the Ukrainian ships turned back to return to port in Odessa. As they were leaving the area, the Russian Coast Guard pursued them, later firing on and capturing the Ukrainian vessels about 23 kilometres (14 mi) off the coast of Crimea, in international waters.[9][50][17]

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Bellingcat

Bellingcat

Bellingcat is a Netherlands-based investigative journalism group that specialises in fact-checking and open-source intelligence (OSINT). It was founded by British journalist and former blogger Eliot Higgins in July 2014. Bellingcat publishes the findings of both professional and citizen journalist investigations into war zones, human rights abuses, and the criminal underworld. The site's contributors also publish guides to their techniques, as well as case studies.

Black Sea

Black Sea

The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine. The Black Sea is supplied by major rivers, principally the Danube, Dnieper, and Don. Consequently, while six countries have a coastline on the sea, its drainage basin includes parts of 24 countries in Europe.

Mariupol

Mariupol

Mariupol is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. Since May 2022, Mariupol has been occupied by Russian forces. It is situated on the northern coast (Pryazovia) of the Sea of Azov, at the mouth of the Kalmius River. Prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it was the tenth-largest city in the country and the second-largest city in Donetsk Oblast, with an estimated population of 425,681 people in January 2022, however Ukrainian authorities estimate its current population to be approximately 100,000.

Eastern Ukraine

Eastern Ukraine

Eastern Ukraine or east Ukraine is primarily the territory of Ukraine east of the Dnipro river, particularly Kharkiv, Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts (provinces). Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts are often also regarded as "eastern Ukraine". In regard to traditional territories, the area encompasses portions of the southern Sloboda Ukraine, Donbas, the eastern Azov Littoral (Pryazovia).

Security Service of Ukraine

Security Service of Ukraine

The Security Service of Ukraine or SBU is the law enforcement authority and main intelligence and security agency of the Ukrainian government, in the areas of counter-intelligence activity and combating organized crime and terrorism. The Constitution of Ukraine defines the SBU as a military formation, and its staff are considered military personnel with ranks. It is subordinated directly under the authority of the president of Ukraine. The SBU also operates its own special forces unit, the Alpha Group.

Kerch Strait

Kerch Strait

The Kerch Strait is a strait in Eastern Europe. It connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, separating the Kerch Peninsula of Crimea in the west from the Taman Peninsula of Russia's Krasnodar Krai in the east. The strait is 3.1 kilometres (1.9 mi) to 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) wide and up to 18 metres (59 ft) deep. The most important harbor, the Crimean city of Kerch, gives its name to the strait, formerly known as the Cimmerian Bosporus. It has also been called the Straits of Yenikale after the Yeni-Kale fortress in Kerch.

Coast Guard (Russia)

Coast Guard (Russia)

The Coast Guard of the Border Service of the FSB, previously known as the Maritime Units of the KGB Border Troops, is the coast guard of Russia.

Territorial waters

Territorial waters

The term territorial waters is sometimes used informally to refer to any area of water over which a sovereign state has jurisdiction, including internal waters, the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone, and potentially the extended continental shelf. In a narrower sense, the term is used as a synonym for the territorial sea.

Treaty Between the Russian Federation and Ukraine on Cooperation in the Use of the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait

Treaty Between the Russian Federation and Ukraine on Cooperation in the Use of the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait

The Treaty Between the Russian Federation and Ukraine on Cooperation in the Use of the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait is an agreement on sea and fisheries between Russia and Ukraine entered into force on 23 April 2004. It was signed on 24 December 2003 by President of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma and President of Russia Vladimir Putin and ratified by both parliaments in April 2004.

Rubin-class patrol boat

Rubin-class patrol boat

The Rubin class, Russian designation Project 22460 Okhotnik, is a class of Russian border patrol vessels being constructed for the Russian Coast Guard. It is designed to combat surface and airborne targets and threats. It can also conduct patrol and convoy escort duties. It is equipped with a Horizon Air S-100, a license-built version of the Austrian Camcopter S-100 helicopter unmanned aerial vehicle, which is intended for search, detection and identification of small high-speed sea targets at a distance of 150 km (93 mi) from the carrier vessel.

Crimean Bridge

Crimean Bridge

The Crimean Bridge, also called Kerch Strait Bridge or Kerch Bridge, is a pair of parallel bridges, one for a four-lane road and one for a double-track railway, spanning the Kerch Strait between the Taman Peninsula of Krasnodar Krai in Russia and the Kerch Peninsula of Crimea. Built by the Russian Federation after the annexation of Crimea at the start of 2014, the bridge cost ₽227.92 billion (US$3.7 billion) and has a length of 19 km (12 mi), making it the longest bridge in Europe and the longest bridge ever constructed by Russia.

International waters

International waters

The terms international waters or transboundary waters apply where any of the following types of bodies of water transcend international boundaries: oceans, large marine ecosystems, enclosed or semi-enclosed regional seas and estuaries, rivers, lakes, groundwater systems (aquifers), and wetlands.

Damage and political response

A Gyurza-M-class artillery boat BK-02 Berdyansk. One of the gun boats captured by the Federal Security Service
A Gyurza-M-class artillery boat BK-02 Berdyansk. One of the gun boats captured by the Federal Security Service

Following the incident, the Ukrainian Navy reported that six servicemen had been injured by the Russian actions.[9] Berdyansk was damaged in her bridge, either by a Sukhoi Su-30 fighter[51] or by 30 mm naval gunfire from the Russian Coast Guard patrol ship Izumrud, according to the Russian version.[17] According to radio communication between the Russian leadership and Coast Guard ships, two Russian ships were damaged.[52] One was damaged while ramming the Ukrainian tugboat Yany Kapu.[53][54][55] In addition, the Russian ship Don also collided with and damaged the Russian ship Izumrud.[56] In the aftermath of the incident, officials from both countries accused the other of provocative behaviour.[57] Ukraine decried the seizure of its ships as illegal.[9][58][11] In a statement, the Ukrainian Navy said, "After leaving the 12-mile zone, the Russian Federation's FSB opened fire at the flotilla belonging to... the armed forces of Ukraine".[12] Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko convened the Ukrainian National Security and Defence Council, describing the Russian actions as "unprovoked and crazy".[9]

Russia did not immediately or directly respond to the allegation, but Russian news agencies cited the Federal Security Service (FSB) as saying it had incontrovertible proof that Ukraine had orchestrated what it called a "provocation" and would publicise its evidence soon.[59] A report by the Russian FSB said that Ukraine had not followed the official procedure required for passage through the strait, namely that the port authority in Kerch should be informed 48 and 24 hours in advance of any movement, with an official confirmation 4 hours before the passage.[17] It also said the Ukrainian ships had been manoeuvring dangerously and intentionally ignored FSB instructions in order to stir up tensions. Russian politicians, including President Vladimir Putin, denounced the Ukrainian government, saying the incident was a calculated attempt by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to increase his popularity ahead of the Ukrainian presidential election next year.[19][28] The Ukrainian government rejected this, and said it had informed the Russians of the planned passage through the Kerch Strait in advance.[9][19] Ukrainian Navy spokesman Oleh Chalyk said that Yany Kapu had "established contact with a coast-guard outpost" operated by the FSB Border Service and "communicated its intention to sail through the Kerch Strait. The information was received [by Russian authorities] but no response was given".[20] According to Ukraine, contact was established at 03:58 on 25 November, "according to international rules of the sea navigation safety".[60]

Discover more about Damage and political response related topics

Federal Security Service

Federal Security Service

The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) is the principal security forces of Russia and the main successor agency to the Soviet Union's KGB; its immediate predecessor was the Federal Counterintelligence Service (FSK) which was reorganized into the FSB in 1995. The three major structural successor components of the former KGB that remain administratively independent of the FSB are the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), the Federal Protective Service (FSO), and the Main Directorate of Special Programs of the President of the Russian Federation (GUSP).

Sukhoi Su-30

Sukhoi Su-30

The Sukhoi Su-30 is a twin-engine, two-seat supermaneuverable fighter aircraft developed in the Soviet Union by Russia's Sukhoi Aviation Corporation. It is a multirole fighter for all-weather, air-to-air and air interdiction missions.

Petro Poroshenko

Petro Poroshenko

Petro Oleksiyovych Poroshenko is a Ukrainian businessman and politician who served as the fifth president of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019. Poroshenko served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2009 to 2010, and as the Minister of Trade and Economic Development in 2012. From 2007 until 2012, he headed the Council of Ukraine's National Bank. He was elected president on 25 May 2014, receiving 54.7% of the votes cast in the first round, thus winning outright and avoiding a run-off. During his presidency, Poroshenko led the country through the first phase of the war in Donbas, pushing the Russian separatist forces into the Donbas Region. He began the process of integration with the European Union by signing the European Union–Ukraine Association Agreement.

National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine

National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine

The National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine is the coordinating state body of the executive power under the President of Ukraine on issues of national security and defense.

Kerch

Kerch

Kerch is a city of regional significance on the Kerch Peninsula in the east of Crimea. Kerch has a population of about 147,033 .

Vladimir Putin

Vladimir Putin

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer, serving as the current president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime minister from 1999 to 2000 and from 2008 to 2012, and as president from 2000 to 2008 and since 2012.

2019 Ukrainian presidential election

2019 Ukrainian presidential election

The 2019 Ukrainian presidential election was held on 31 March and 21 April in a two-round system.

Aftermath

Captured BK-02 Berdyansk with a hole in the pilothouse
Captured BK-02 Berdyansk with a hole in the pilothouse

On the morning of 26 November, photographs of the captured Ukrainian ships laid up in the Crimean port of Kerch were published. In the photos, small camouflage nets cover the ships' bows.[61] Also on that day, according to APK-Inform, Ukrainian commercial shipping returned to normal operation after the Kerch Strait was reopened to civilian traffic.[62][63][64]

According to Ukrainian intelligence, the state of health of the Ukrainian Naval Forces servicemen who were injured in the attack in the Kerch Strait was satisfactory. The injured Ukrainian sailors were being treated at Pirogov Kerch City Hospital No. 1.[65] Other photographs showed significant damage inflicted to the Berdyansk gunboat, including a hole in the bridge. According to Vasyl Hrytsak, the Head of the Security Service of Ukraine, two missiles were fired by one of the Russian strike aircraft.[51]

On 27 November, a Crimean court ordered that 12 of the 24 Ukrainian sailors be detained for 60 days.[8] The following day the 12 remaining Ukrainian sailors, including the three hospitalised, were also officially detained for 60 days by the Kievskiy Raion court of Simferopol.[66] On 29 November, Russian authorities stated that the three hospitalised sailors were discharged from hospital.[67] On 30 November all captured Ukrainian sailors were transferred to (the Russian capital) Moscow.[68]

On the evening of 28 November, Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Volodymyr Omelyan said that vessels bound for the ports of Berdyansk and Mariupol awaited entrance to the Sea of Azov and vessels were also waiting to go southbound. He characterised this as a virtual blockade. No vessels were identified as Ukrainian.[69] On 4 December Omelyan stated that Russia did let ships reach Berdyansk and Mariupol again.[7][70] The same day the Ukrainian Ministry of Temporarily Occupied Territories and IDPs claimed that the accumulation of ships waiting to go to the Ukrainian ports had led to several accidents.[71] Russia denied it ever blocked vessels from sailing to Ukrainian ports and asserted that any possible disruptions were due to bad weather.[7][72]

On 19 January 2019, USS Donald Cook entered the Black Sea, being the second American vessel to arrive in the Black Sea after the Kerch Strait incident after USS Fort McHenry entered on 10 January 2019.[73]

In March 2019, Canada, the United States and the EU imposed sanctions on Russian citizens and companies for their participation in the incident and activities in Crimea and separatist-controlled eastern Ukraine.[74]

On 25 May 2019 the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea decided that Russia must immediately release three captured ships and 24 captured Ukrainian servicemen.[75][76]

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky meets Ukrainian sailors returning home
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky meets Ukrainian sailors returning home

On 7 September 2019 all 24 sailors were returned to Ukraine during an exchange of prisoners. In particular, Russia was able to get one of the witnesses in the MH17 case.[77]

On 18 November 2019, the captured ships were returned to Ukraine. The transfer took place in the sea near the Crimean cape Opuk.[78] Ships were returned with regular weapons but no ammunition. The crew's personal weapons, as well as ledgers and documents, remained in Russia as evidence in the criminal case.[79][80]

Discover more about Aftermath related topics

Kerch

Kerch

Kerch is a city of regional significance on the Kerch Peninsula in the east of Crimea. Kerch has a population of about 147,033 .

Bridge (nautical)

Bridge (nautical)

The bridge, also known as the pilothouse or wheelhouse, is a room or platform of a ship from which the ship can be commanded. When a ship is under way, the bridge is manned by an officer of the watch aided usually by an able seaman acting as a lookout. During critical maneuvers the captain will be on the bridge, often supported by an officer of the watch, an able seaman on the wheel and sometimes a pilot, if required.

Vasyl Hrytsak

Vasyl Hrytsak

Vasyl Serhiiovych Hrytsak is a Ukrainian serviceman, army general, and the fourteenth head of the Security Service of Ukraine. Founder and chairman of the supervisory board of the Ukrainian Center for Analytics and Security. Head of the Security Service of Ukraine (2015–2019). Member of the National Security and Defense Council (2015–2019). General of the Army of Ukraine.

Head of the Security Service of Ukraine

Head of the Security Service of Ukraine

The Head of the Security Service of Ukraine serves as the director of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the internal security agency of the Ukrainian government. The head of the Security Service of Ukraine is ex officio a member of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, and is appointed or dismissed by the Verkhovna Rada on proposition of the President of Ukraine.

Simferopol

Simferopol

Simferopol is the second-largest city in the Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, and is considered the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. However, it is under the de facto control of Russia, which annexed Crimea in 2014 and regards Simferopol as the capital of the Republic of Crimea. Simferopol is an important political, economic and transport hub of the peninsula, and serves as the administrative centre of both Simferopol Municipality and the surrounding Simferopol District.

Moscow

Moscow

Moscow is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million residents within the city limits, over 17 million residents in the urban area, and over 21.5 million residents in the metropolitan area. The city covers an area of 2,511 square kilometers (970 sq mi), while the urban area covers 5,891 square kilometers (2,275 sq mi), and the metropolitan area covers over 26,000 square kilometers (10,000 sq mi). Moscow is among the world's largest cities; being the most populous city entirely in Europe, the largest urban and metropolitan area in Europe, and the largest city by land area on the European continent.

Volodymyr Omelyan

Volodymyr Omelyan

Volodymyr Volodymyrovych Omelyan is a Ukrainian diplomat and politician. He is a former Ukraine's infrastructure minister in the government of Volodymyr Groysman.

USS Donald Cook

USS Donald Cook

USS Donald Cook (DDG-75) is an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer in the United States Navy named for Medal of Honor recipient Donald Cook, a Colonel in the United States Marine Corps. This ship is the 25th destroyer of her class and the 14th of the class to be built at Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine. Construction began on 9 July 1996, she was launched and christened on 3 May 1997, and on 4 December 1998 she was commissioned at Penn's Landing Pier in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Black Sea

Black Sea

The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine. The Black Sea is supplied by major rivers, principally the Danube, Dnieper, and Don. Consequently, while six countries have a coastline on the sea, its drainage basin includes parts of 24 countries in Europe.

USS Fort McHenry (LSD-43)

USS Fort McHenry (LSD-43)

USS Fort McHenry (LSD-43) is a Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship of the United States Navy. She was named for Fort McHenry, in Baltimore, Maryland, the 1814 defense of which inspired "The Star-Spangled Banner".

International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea

International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea

The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) is an intergovernmental organization created by the mandate of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea. It was established by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, signed at Montego Bay, Jamaica, on December 10, 1982. The Convention entered into force on November 16, 1994, and established an international framework for law over all ocean space, its uses and resources. The ITLOS is one of four dispute resolution mechanisms listed in Article 287 of the UNCLOS.

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17/MAS17) was a scheduled passenger flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur that was shot down by Russian-controlled forces on 17 July 2014, while flying over eastern Ukraine. All 283 passengers and 15 crew were killed. Contact with the aircraft, a Boeing 777-200ER, was lost when it was about 50 km (31 mi) from the Ukraine–Russia border, and wreckage from the aircraft fell near Hrabove in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, 40 km (25 mi) from the border. The shoot-down occurred during the war in Donbas over territory controlled by Russian separatist forces.

Reactions

Ukraine

Martial law in Ukraine
Martial law in Ukraine

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko convened the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine on 25 November.[81] He warned of the threat of a Russian land invasion.[82]

Oleksandr Turchynov, Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, reportedly said that the incident was an act of war by Russia.[83] He has also stated that active military preparations had been spotted along the border on the Russian side.[84] The National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, in its decision of 26 November, stated[85] that the actions of the Russian Federation against the ships of the Navy of the Armed Forces of Ukraine fall under paragraphs "c" and "d" of Art. 3 of Resolution 3314 (XXIX). Definition of Aggression, adopted by the UN General Assembly on 14 December 1974, namely:

  • the blockade of the ports or coasts of a State by the armed forces of another State;
  • an attack by the armed forces of a State on the land, sea or air forces, or marine and air fleets of another State.[86]

On 26 November 2018, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces held a briefing, where they announced that they viewed the actions of the Russian Federation during the incident as an act of armed aggression in violation of a number of international norms and treaties, including:[87] the Treaty Between the Russian Federation and Ukraine on Cooperation in the Use of the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait, article 17 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, part 1 of article 36 of the UN Convention, articles 32 and 95 of the United Nations Convention, article 30 of the UN Convention, and article 2 of the UN Charter.[87]

On 26 November, a day after the incident, lawmakers in the Ukrainian Parliament overwhelmingly backed the imposition of martial law in the country's coastal regions, and those bordering Russia and unrecognised Transnistria. A total of 276 (61% of 450) members of parliament voted for the measure, which took effect on 28 November 2018,[88] and automatically expires in 30 days.[89] The initial recommendation was for a 60-day enforcement; according to Poroshenko it was amended so not to affect the upcoming 2019 Ukrainian presidential election.[26]

On 27 November 2018, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine appealed to the signatory states of the Budapest Memorandum with the requirement to hold urgent consultations to ensure full compliance with the commitments and the immediate cessation of Russian aggression against Ukraine.[90][91][92]

On 28 November 2018, Ukrainian President Poroshenko said that the incident was provoked by Russia in order to force Ukraine to declare martial law and therefore to prevent Ukraine from receiving its tomos of autocephaly (see: Granting of autocephaly to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and the 2018 Moscow–Constantinople schism).[93][94]

Vice Admiral Ihor Voronchenko said on 29 November that Ukraine would request the closure of the Bosphorus Strait.[95]

President Poroshenko during an interview told the German tabloid Bild that Germany should support Ukraine.[96] Poroshenko also told Bild that Putin saw Ukraine as a Russian colony.[97]

On 30 November, Ukraine banned all Russian men between 16 and 60 from entering the country for the period of the martial law with exceptions for humanitarian purposes,[6] claiming this is a security measure.[68]

On 19 December, Oleksandr Turchynov, the secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, in an interview with the BBC Ukraine told that a new attempt is needed to go through the Kerch Strait and called on representatives of the OSCE and other international organizations to take part. In his opinion, otherwise Russia will fulfill its plan to seize the Sea of Azov and that will de facto legitimize the occupation of Crimea. Turchynov also mentioned plans to deploy missiles onshore, capable of destroying the Crimean Bridge.[98][99][100]

On 26 December at 2 pm, the martial law in Ukraine ended,[101] but the ban for Russian men aged between 16 and 60 continued[102] for some time.

Russia

Ukrainian ships detained in the Kerch port
Ukrainian ships detained in the Kerch port

In the immediate aftermath of the incident, the Russian FSB security service blamed Ukraine for sparking the clashes, saying their "irrefutable" evidence would "soon be made public".[81]

On 26 November, the FSB published its detailed chronology of the events of 25 November on its website.[17] The chronology indicated that the Ukrainian vessels failed to follow the advance notification procedures for passage through the Kerch Strait and that Russia did not contest the 2003 Treaty right to freedom of navigation through the strait. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on the next day that Ukraine had violated international legal norms by failing to obtain authorisation for its vessels.[103] Deputy chairman of the State Duma Pyotr Tolstoy warned of the danger of a war.[104]

Following the declaration of martial law in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed "serious concern".[26] He later called the event "a provocation" and accused the Ukrainian president of staging the incident in order to improve his popularity ahead of the 2019 presidential election.[28]

According to the state-run RIA Novosti, the Russian military planned to send additional S-400 Triumf surface-to-air anti-aircraft missile batteries to Crimea.[105]

United Nations

On 26 November, Russia called for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).[106] The agenda of that UNSC session, on what Russia described as the "violation" of its borders by the Ukrainian Navy, was dismissed by seven votes to four, with four abstentions. Russian first deputy ambassador to the UN, Dmitry Polyanski, said that Russia, being a permanent member of the Security Council, would continue to raise important issues "under the agenda they relate to".[107] The Russian version of the incident as a violation of Russian borders was supported in addition to Russia by representatives of China, Kazakhstan and Bolivia. Four states abstained, seven were against. Thus, the proposal did not pass.[108]

Ukraine also called for an emergency meeting of the UNSC over what it described as the "attack" of Russia.[109] This was confirmed by US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley.[110][111] Haley said that Russia's actions were an "outrageous violation" of Ukrainian territory. She demanded that Russia stop its "unlawful conduct" and respect the "navigational rights and freedoms of all states".[112] UK Ambassador Karen Pierce condemned Russia's "deplorable" military action.[89] U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo said the United Nations was not able to verify the events independently.[113]

On 27 November, Secretary-General António Guterres expressed in a statement that he was "greatly concerned" about the incident and urged Russia and Ukraine to use "maximum restraint" and "to reduce tensions through all available peaceful means in accordance with the Charter of the UN".[114][115][116]

On 15 February 2019, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights classified imprisoned Ukrainian officers as prisoners of war and urged Russia to provide the prisoners with medical help and protect them against any violence and intimidation.[117]

Other countries and organisations

The Council of Europe urged deescalation,[118] as did the European Union,[119] Spain[103] Bolivia,[108] China[108] Japan,[120] and NATO.[121]

The President of the European Council Donald Tusk condemned the Russian use of force.[122] In resolution 433 of 12 December 2018 the European Parliament strongly condemned Russian aggression in the Kerch Strait, demanded the release of all Ukrainian vessels and sailors. It also called on the European Union to introduce sanctions against Russia if the servicemen are not released and if there is any further military escalation. In the same resolution MEPs condemned the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and called for it to be cancelled.[123]

Australia,[124] Canada,[125] the Czech Republic,[126] Denmark,[127] Estonia,[103] France,[128] Germany,[129] Hungary,[130] Latvia,[131] Lithuania,[103] Poland,[132] Romania,[133] Slovakia,[134] Sweden,[135] the United Kingdom,[103][136][137] Norway,[138] and Turkey[139] all issued statements criticising Russia's use of force.

United States President Donald Trump cancelled the planned meeting with the President of Russia Vladimir Putin during the G-20 summit in Argentina, claiming that the sole reason was the situation with Ukrainian ships and sailors.[140][141]

Discover more about Reactions related topics

Martial law in Ukraine

Martial law in Ukraine

The legal basis for the introduction of martial law in Ukraine is the Constitution of Ukraine, the Law of Ukraine "On the legal status of martial law" and presidential decrees about the introduction of martial law. Modern-day martial law has been introduced two times in Ukraine.

Petro Poroshenko

Petro Poroshenko

Petro Oleksiyovych Poroshenko is a Ukrainian businessman and politician who served as the fifth president of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019. Poroshenko served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2009 to 2010, and as the Minister of Trade and Economic Development in 2012. From 2007 until 2012, he headed the Council of Ukraine's National Bank. He was elected president on 25 May 2014, receiving 54.7% of the votes cast in the first round, thus winning outright and avoiding a run-off. During his presidency, Poroshenko led the country through the first phase of the war in Donbas, pushing the Russian separatist forces into the Donbas Region. He began the process of integration with the European Union by signing the European Union–Ukraine Association Agreement.

Oleksandr Turchynov

Oleksandr Turchynov

Oleksandr Valentynovych Turchynov is a Ukrainian politician, screenwriter, Baptist minister and economist. He is the former Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine.

Armed Forces of Ukraine

Armed Forces of Ukraine

The Armed Forces of Ukraine, most commonly known in Ukraine as ZSU or anglicized as AFU, are the military forces of Ukraine. All military and security forces, including the Armed Forces, are under the command of the President of Ukraine and subject to oversight by a permanent Verkhovna Rada parliamentary commission. They trace their lineage to 1917, while the modern armed forces were formed after Ukrainian independence in 1991.

General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces

General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is the military staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It is the central organ of the Armed Forces Administration and oversees operational management of the armed forces under the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine.

Treaty Between the Russian Federation and Ukraine on Cooperation in the Use of the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait

Treaty Between the Russian Federation and Ukraine on Cooperation in the Use of the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait

The Treaty Between the Russian Federation and Ukraine on Cooperation in the Use of the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait is an agreement on sea and fisheries between Russia and Ukraine entered into force on 23 April 2004. It was signed on 24 December 2003 by President of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma and President of Russia Vladimir Putin and ratified by both parliaments in April 2004.

Transnistria

Transnistria

Transnistria, officially the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR), is an unrecognised breakaway state that is internationally recognised as a part of Moldova. Transnistria controls most of the narrow strip of land between the Dniester river and the Moldovan–Ukrainian border, as well as some land on the other side of the river's bank. Its capital and largest city is Tiraspol. Transnistria has been recognised only by three other unrecognised or partially recognised breakaway states: Abkhazia, Artsakh and South Ossetia. Transnistria is officially designated by the Republic of Moldova as the Administrative-Territorial Units of the Left Bank of the Dniester or as Stînga Nistrului. In March 2022, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted a resolution that defines the territory as under military occupation by Russia.

2019 Ukrainian presidential election

2019 Ukrainian presidential election

The 2019 Ukrainian presidential election was held on 31 March and 21 April in a two-round system.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ukraine)

Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ukraine)

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine is the ministry of the Ukrainian government that oversees the foreign relations of Ukraine. The head of the ministry is the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Tomos (Eastern Orthodox Church)

Tomos (Eastern Orthodox Church)

A tomos in the Eastern Orthodox Church is a decree of the head of a particular Eastern Orthodox church on certain matters.

Autocephaly

Autocephaly

Autocephaly is the status of a hierarchical Christian church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop. The term is primarily used in Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches. The status has been compared with that of the churches (provinces) within the Anglican Communion.

2018 Moscow–Constantinople schism

2018 Moscow–Constantinople schism

A schism between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople began on 15 October 2018 when the former unilaterally severed full communion with the latter.

Order of battle

Russia

Two more tugs brought a cargo ship to block passage under the bridge.

Russian Coast Guard
Vessel name Vessel class Armament Commander Casualties Notes
Killed Wounded Total
Don Sorum-class tugboat[145] 2 × 30 mm AK-230M or AK-306 Captain 2nd rank Aleksey Salyayev
0
0
0
slightly damaged
self-inflicted
Izumrud Rubin-class patrol boat[145] 1 × 30 mm AK630M, 2 × 12.7 mm MG, 8 Igla SAM Captain 3rd rank Andrey Shipitsin
0
0
0
slightly damaged
self-inflicted
unknown Mangust-class patrol boat[145] unknown
0
0
0
multiple vessels of this class were present
unknown Sobol-class patrol boat[145] 1 × 14.5 mm MTPU MG, 2 × Igla SAM, 1 × 30 mm grenade launcher unknown
0
0
0
multiple vessels of this class were present
Total casualties: none reported
Black Sea Fleet
Vessel name Vessel class Armament Commander Casualties Notes
Killed Wounded Total
Suzdalets [ru][145] Grisha-class corvette Lieutenant-Captain S. A. Scherbakov[146]
0
0
0
Vice-Admiral Zakharin [ru] Natya-class minesweeper[144] unknown
0
0
0
unknown Shmel-class gunboat [ru] unknown
0
0
0
two unidentified ships of this class were present[144]
Total casualties: none reported

Ukraine

Ukrainian Navy
Vessel name Vessel class Armament Commander Casualties Notes
Killed Wounded Total
Berdyansk [uk] Gyurza-M-class artillery boat 2 × 30 mm autocannon, 2 × 30 mm grenade launchers, 4 × Barrier ATGM, 2 × 7.62 mm MG, 9K38 Igla MANPADS Lt. (JG) Roman Mokryak [uk]
0
unknown
unknown
damaged, captured
Nikopol [uk] Gyurza-M-class artillery boat 2 × 30 mm autocannon, 2 × 30 mm grenade launchers, 4 × Barrier ATGM, 2 × 7.62 mm MG, 9K38 Igla SAM Lt. Bohdan Nebylytsia [uk]
0
unknown
unknown
captured
Yany Kapu [uk] Project 498 tugboat [ru] 2 × 14.5 mm MG[148] Starshina Oleh Melnychuk [uk]
0
unknown
unknown
damaged, captured
Total casualties: 3 wounded, 24 captured (including wounded)

Discover more about Order of battle related topics

Rubin-class patrol boat

Rubin-class patrol boat

The Rubin class, Russian designation Project 22460 Okhotnik, is a class of Russian border patrol vessels being constructed for the Russian Coast Guard. It is designed to combat surface and airborne targets and threats. It can also conduct patrol and convoy escort duties. It is equipped with a Horizon Air S-100, a license-built version of the Austrian Camcopter S-100 helicopter unmanned aerial vehicle, which is intended for search, detection and identification of small high-speed sea targets at a distance of 150 km (93 mi) from the carrier vessel.

Sorum-class tugboat

Sorum-class tugboat

The Sorum-class seagoing tugboat, also known as Project 745P in Russian Coast Guard service, is a seagoing tug that is currently in service in the Russian Coast Guard and was in other services at one point. These vessels will perform the standard missions of a seagoing tug boat with other missions such as protecting and patrolling Russian maritime borders, enforcing navigational rules and law enforcement, search and rescue, and fisheries protection.

Sobol-class patrol boat

Sobol-class patrol boat

The Sobol-class patrol boat, also known as Project 12200, is a Russian Coast Guard vessel. The patrol craft is designed to operate in coastal areas, ports, and other littoral areas, to perform missions like protection of territorial maritime borders, law enforcement, other defense missions, search and rescue, and protection of fisheries.

Natya-class minesweeper

Natya-class minesweeper

The Natya class, Soviet designation Project 266M Akvamarin, were a group of minesweepers built for the Soviet Navy and export customers during the 1970s and 1980s. The ships were used for ocean minesweeping.

Grisha-class corvette

Grisha-class corvette

The Grisha class, Soviet designation Project 1124 Al'batros, are a series of anti-submarine corvettes built by the Soviet Union between 1970 and 1990 and later by Russia and Ukraine. These ships have a limited range and are largely used only in coastal waters. They have been equipped with a variety of ASW weapons and an SA-N-4 'Gecko' surface-to-air missile launcher. All were fitted with retractable fin stabilizers.

Mangust-class patrol boat

Mangust-class patrol boat

The Mangust-class patrol boat, also known as Project 12150, is a Russian Coast Guard vessel. The patrol craft is designed to operate in coastal areas, ports, and other littoral areas, to perform missions like protection of territorial maritime borders, law enforcement, other defense missions, search and rescue, protection of fisheries, and enforcing rules of navigation.

Sukhoi Su-25

Sukhoi Su-25

The Sukhoi Su-25 Grach is a subsonic, single-seat, twin-engine jet aircraft developed in the Soviet Union by Sukhoi. It was designed to provide close air support for Soviet Ground Forces. The first prototype made its maiden flight on 22 February 1975. After testing, the aircraft went into series production in 1978 in Tbilisi in the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic.

AK-230

AK-230

The AK-230 is a Soviet fully automatic naval twin 30 mm gun. Its primary function is anti-aircraft. It is mounted in an enclosed automatic turret and directed by radar. AK-230 is widely used, mounted on big warships as well as small craft. About 1450 guns were produced in the USSR, and about 300 were produced in China as the Type 69. It was succeeded by the more powerful AK-630 from the mid-to-late 1970s.

AK-630

AK-630

The AK-630 is a Soviet and Russian fully automatic naval, rotary cannon, close-in weapon system. The "630" designation refers to the weapon's six gun barrels and their 30 mm caliber.

9K38 Igla

9K38 Igla

The 9K38 Igla is a Russian/Soviet man-portable infrared homing surface-to-air missile (SAM) system. A simplified, earlier version is known as the 9K310 Igla-1, and the latest variant is the 9K338 Igla-S.

Andrey Shipitsin

Andrey Shipitsin

Andrey Olegovich Shipitsin, is a Russian naval officer, who is a sailor, and the captain of the III rank of the Coast Guard of the border troops of the FSB of Russia, commander of the PSKR "Emerald".

KPV heavy machine gun

KPV heavy machine gun

The KPV-14.5 heavy machine gun is a Soviet designed 14.5×114mm-caliber heavy machine gun, which first entered service as an infantry weapon in 1949. In the 1960s, the infantry version was taken out of production because it was too large and heavy. It was later redesigned for anti-aircraft use, because it showed excellent results as an AA gun, with a range of 3,000 meters horizontally and 2,000 meters vertically against low flying planes. It was used in the ZPU series of anti-aircraft guns. Its size and power also made it a useful light anti-armour weapon on the BTR series of vehicles and the BRDM-2 scout car.

Source: "Kerch Strait incident", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2023, March 8th), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerch_Strait_incident.

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References
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