Kerch, also known as Keriç or Kerich, is a city of regional significance on the Kerch Peninsula in the east of Crimea. Kerch has a population of about 147,033 .
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.
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.
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 was the maritime forces of Ukraine and one of the five branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Tuzla Island is a sandy islet in the form of a spit located in the middle of the Strait of Kerch, between the Kerch Peninsula in the west and the Taman Peninsula in the east. The island was formed from part of the Taman Peninsula after a 1925 storm.
Hetman Sahaidachny (U130/F130) was a frigate of the Ukrainian Navy that was originally built at the Kerch Shipyard as a Project 11351 patrol ship of the Nerey / Krivak III / Menzhinskiy class. Homeported at Odesa since March 2014, she was the flagship of the Ukrainian Navy. Her major armament was a single 100 mm gun. As the Russo-Ukrainian war escalated, Hetman was scuttled by Ukraine on 4 March 2022 out of fear of being captured by advancing Russian forces.
The Ukrainian Marine Corps, also known simply as the Ukrainian Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the Armed Forces of Ukraine since 2023, responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations. From its modern foundation in 1993 up to 2023 it constituted part of the Coastal Forces of the Ukrainian Navy. It is used as a component part of amphibious, airborne and amphibious-airborne operations, alone or in coordination with formations and units of the Ground Forces in order to capture parts of the seashore, islands, ports, fleet bases, coast airfields and other coast objects from the enemy. It can also be used to defend naval bases, vital shoreline areas, separate islands and coast objects, and security of hostile areas.
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 its 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.
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.
The Russia–Ukraine border is the de jure international boundary between Russia and Ukraine. Over land, the border spans five Russian oblasts and five Ukrainian oblasts. Due to the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in early 2014, the de facto border between Russia and Ukraine is different from the legal border recognized by the United Nations. As of 2024, Russia is militarily occupying a significant portion of Ukraine.
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. 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 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 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.
A crisis in Russia–Ukraine relations developed 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.
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.
