The Russian Naval Infantry, often referred to as Russian Marines in the West, operate as the naval infantry of the Russian Navy. Established in 1705, they are capable of conducting amphibious operations as well as operating as more traditional light infantry.
Underwater divers may be employed in any branch of an armed force, including the navy, army, marines, air force and coast guard. Scope of operations includes: search and recovery, search and rescue, hydrographic survey, explosive ordnance disposal, demolition, underwater engineering, salvage, ships husbandry, reconnaissance, infiltration, sabotage, counterifiltration, underwater combat and security.
The Soviet Navy was the naval warfare uniform service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy made up a large part of the Soviet Union's strategic planning in the event of a conflict with the opposing superpower, the United States, during the Cold War (1945–1991). The Soviet Navy played a large role during the Cold War, either confronting the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in western Europe or power projection to maintain its sphere of influence in eastern Europe.
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 Ukrainian Navy is the maritime forces of Ukraine and one of the five branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The Baltic Fleet is the fleet of the Russian Navy in the Baltic Sea.
The Imperial Russian Navy operated as the navy of the Russian Tsardom and later the Russian Empire from 1696 to 1917. Formally established in 1696, it lasted until dissolved in the wake of the February Revolution of 1917. It developed from a smaller force that had existed prior to Tsar Peter the Great's founding of the modern Russian navy during the Second Azov campaign in 1696. It expanded in the second half of the 18th century and reached its peak strength by the early part of the 19th century, behind only the British and French fleets in terms of size.
The Russian commando frogmen, informally called "commando frogmen" in civilian media, are a Russian Naval Spetsnaz unit under operational subordination to the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU). It is the special forces unit of the Russian Naval Infantry and is composed of highly trained and elite marines within the Naval Infantry. By virtue of belonging to the Russian Naval Infantry, frogmen fall under the Coastal Troops of the Russian Navy service arm. The Russian Navy proper does not field any special forces or special operations units. Russian FSB special forces Alpha Group and Vympel also have frogman units in their respective naval components.
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.
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 Pacific Fleet is the Russian Navy fleet in the Pacific Ocean.
The Polish Navy is the naval branch of the Polish Armed Forces. The Polish Navy consists of 46 ships and about 12,000 commissioned and enlisted personnel. The traditional ship prefix in the Polish Navy is ORP.
The Russian Hydrographic Service, full current official name Department of Navigation and Oceanography of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation, is Russia's hydrographic office, with responsibility to facilitate navigation, performing hydrographic surveys and publishing nautical charts.
Yuri Olefirenko is a mid-size Project 773 landing ship of the Ukrainian Navy. From her original commissioning in 1971 until the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea, she was based in the Southern Naval Base at Donuzlav. Since then Yuri Olefirenko was relocated to Ochakiv. She was reportedly captured by Russian forces during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine before being spotted still in active service on 3 June 2022.
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.
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.
In the 9th century, the Kievan Rus' had a powerful naval fleet, as shown by their successful siege of Constantinople in 860. However, the fleet was irregular and primarily used for raids. The Mongol Empire's destructive invasion and weaknesses in the fleet led to its dissolution, except for the Principality of Novgorod, which had access to open seas and avoided Mongol invasions. In the 14th century, Novgorod pirates terrorized nearby regions. The Grand Duchy of Moscow, the first proper Russian state, gained access to open waters and marked the beginning of the Golden Age of the Russian Navy. In 1570, Ivan the Terrible created a flotilla to protect Russian navigation in the Baltic Sea, which lasted for about a year. In the 16th century, Russia fought against the Ottoman Empire to gain free access to the Black Sea. In the 17th century, Russian sailors explored the Arctic Ocean and reached the Pacific Ocean, with Semyon Dezhnev discovering the Bering Strait. Naval operations took place during the Russo-Swedish War.
Skadovsk (P170) is a Project 1400M Grif-M small patrol gunboat of the Ukrainian Navy. Built in 1990, she has been in Ukrainian Navy service since 1992.
Soviet Union Hydrographic Service 
Ukraine
