The Sea of Azov is an inland shelf sea in Eastern Europe connected to the Black Sea by the narrow Strait of Kerch, and 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. It is an important access route for Central Asia, from the Caspian Sea via the Volga–Don Canal.
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 or Straits of Taman. It has also been called the Straits of Yenikale after the Yeni-Kale fortress in Kerch.
The Black Sea Fleet is the fleet of the Russian Navy in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Mediterranean Sea. The Black Sea Fleet, along with other Russian ground and air forces on the Crimean Peninsula, are subordinate to the Southern Military District of the Russian Armed Forces. The fleet traces its history to its founding by Prince Potemkin on 13 May 1783 as part of the Imperial Russian Navy. The Russian SFSR inherited the fleet in 1918; with the founding of the Soviet Union in 1922, it became part of the Soviet Navy. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Black Sea Fleet was partitioned between the Russian Federation and Ukraine in 1997, with Russia receiving title to 82% of the vessels.
The Ukrainian Navy is the maritime forces of Ukraine and one of the eight service branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The Black Sea Campaigns were the operations of the Axis and Soviet naval forces in the Black Sea and its coastal regions during World War II between 1941 and 1944, including in support of the land forces.
Vinnytsia (U206) was an anti-submarine corvette of the Ukrainian Navy. Prior to joining the Ukrainian Navy she was a former KGB Border Guard patrol ship named Dnepr. In March 2014, she was seized by Russian soldiers and de facto came under control of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. The ship was returned to the Ukrainian Navy from Crimea on 19 April 2014.
On March 13, 1986, the American cruiser USS Yorktown and the destroyer USS Caron tried to exercise the right of innocent passage under international law through Soviet territorial waters in the Black Sea near the southern Crimean Peninsula. They were confronted by Soviet frigate Ladny and border guard vessels Dozorny and Izmail.
Donbas was a Project 304 former Soviet repair ship that was converted to a command ship of the Ukrainian Navy's 9th Division. She was built on Szczecin Shipyard in Poland in 1969 for the Soviet Navy and entitled PM-9. "PM" is a Russian abbreviation for a repair ship, and literally means a floating repair shop. Donbas was destroyed during the Siege of Mariupol as a part of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Pereyaslav is a small reconnaissance ship of the project 1824B, a special purpose ship of the 29th Division of the Naval Forces of Ukraine. It was originally named GS-13 under the Hydrographic Service of the Soviet Union Navy, but after the dissolution of the Soviet Union this vessel was released from the Russian military.
Project 22160 is a series of large patrol ships being constructed for the Russian Navy. The vessels are primarily intended for duties such as patrol, monitoring and protection in open and closed seas. The first ship was laid down in February 2014 and joined the Russian Navy in December 2018. By January 2018, six ships were under construction. Between 2017 and 2022, four ships had been launched.
The Project 58155 Gyurza-M class is a series of small armored gunboats in service with the Ukrainian Navy. The first two vessels were laid down at the Kuznia na Rybalskomu shipbuilding plant in October 2012. Originally it was planned to build nine such vessels by 2017. In December 2013 the Ministry of Defence withdrew its contract. The class is named after the Levant viper, Гюрза, Hiurza, in Ukrainian.
Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority (USPA) (Ukrainian: Адміністрація морських портів України (АМПУ)) is a state company created in 2013 after the adoption of the law "On Sea Ports of Ukraine" and united all ports of Ukraine under one administration. Total throughput of 13 seaports in 2019 exceeded 160 million tons.
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.
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. It was the first time that Russian forces had openly engaged Ukrainian forces during the Russo-Ukrainian War.
The 2021 Black Sea incident was a diplomatic incident between Russia and the United Kingdom involving the British destroyer HMS Defender while it transited from Odesa, Ukraine, to Batumi, Georgia.
Hola Prystan (P241) is a Project R1415 anti-sabotage boat of the Ukrainian Navy. Built in 1986, she has been in Ukrainian Navy service since 1997.
Naval warfare in the Russian invasion of Ukraine began on 24 February 2022, when the Russian Armed Forces launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. Media reporting of and focus on the invasion has largely been on the terrestrial and aerial aspects – however, maritime engagements have been consequential during the conflict. Disputes over Ukrainian grain exports through the Black Sea have also played a significant role.
The Saturn class, Russian designation Project 498, also called Proteus, is a series of Soviet/Russian tugboats built for use in harbours and roadsteads. Project 498 boats were built from 1962 until 1983, after which production switched to an upgraded version, Project 04983. They have been used for both civil and naval purposes and a few have been exported to other countries.
The Black Sea Fleet dispute took place between Russia and Ukraine following the dissolution of Soviet Union. The dispute revolved around ownership of former Soviet Black Sea Fleet, basing rights in Sevastopol, the home base of the fleet, and sovereignty over Crimea. The dispute began in 1992 and involved a series of negotiations and maritime incidents, before being finally settled in 1997 through the Partition Treaty on the Status and Conditions of the Black Sea Fleet.
