Global InformationKerch Strait incident information
| Kerch Strait incident | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Russo-Ukrainian War | |||||||||
 Yany Kapu tugboat rammed by Don patrol boat as seen by Ukrainian Gyurza-M artillery boat | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
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| Strength | |||||||||
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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 class=notpageimage| 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 recognized only by Russia and a small number of its allies, 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 Odesa. 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.
- ^ "Минобороны РФ подтвердило участие военных в инциденте в Керченском проливе)" [Russian Ministry of Defence confirmed its military involvement in the Kerch Strait incident] (in Russian). Interfax. 30 November 2018. Archived from the original on 15 December 2018. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
- ^ "Explaining the naval clash between Russia and Ukraine". The Economist. 1 December 2018. Archived from the original on 19 January 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
- ^ "Poroshenko says martial law to be introduced in Ukraine at 9 a.m. on Nov 28". Interfax-Ukraine. 26 November 2018. Archived from the original on 28 September 2019. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
- ^ Darrah, Nicole (26 November 2018). "Ukrainian parliament votes to impose martial law after Russia allegedly seized country's ships". Fox News. Archived from the original on 26 November 2018. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
- ^ "Poroshenko Ends Martial Law in Ukraine As Tensions With Russia Continue". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 26 December 2018. Archived from the original on 5 January 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
- ^ "Ukraine bans entry to all male Russian nationals aged 16-60". Ukrainian Independent Information Agency. 30 November 2018. Archived from the original on 5 April 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
30/ukraine-banspart2was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
bbc34was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b c d e f "Tension escalates after Russia seizes Ukraine naval ships". BBC News. 26 November 2018. Archived from the original on 26 November 2018. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
- ^ Kalashnik, Pavlo (26 November 2018). "Росія захопила понад 20 українських моряків – представник президента в Криму" (in Ukrainian). Hromadske.TV. Archived from the original on 26 November 2018. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
- ^ "Russia seizes Ukrainian ships near annexed Crimea". Al Jazeera. 26 November 2018. Archived from the original on 26 November 2018. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
- ^ Osborn, Andrew; Polityuk, Pavel (25 November 2018). "Russia seizes Ukrainian ships near annexed Crimea after firing on them". Reuters. Archived from the original on 26 November 2018. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
- ^ "Agreement between the Russian Federation and the Ukraine on cooperation in the use of the sea of Azov and the strait of Kerch". Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations Database. 24 December 2003. Archived from the original on 30 November 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
- ^ "Ukraine-Russia sea clash: Who controls the territorial waters around Crimea?". BBC News. 27 November 2018. Archived from the original on 19 December 2018. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ Koval, Dmytro (2021). "The Award Concerning Jurisdiction in the Coastal State Rights Dispute Between Ukraine and Russia: What Has Been Decided and What to Expect Next". Lex Portus (in Ukrainian). 7 (1). doi:10.26886/2524-101X.7.1.2021.1. Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
- ^ a b "О провокационных действиях кораблей ВМС Украины". fsb.ru (in Russian). Russian Federal Security Service. 26 November 2018. Archived from the original on 26 November 2018. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
- ^ "Russian forces fulfilled 'military duty' in stopping Ukraine ships: Putin". Agence France-Presse. 28 November 2018. Archived from the original on 2 December 2018. Retrieved 19 January 2019 – via New Straits Times.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
KIe1490c51b9was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
rfel3was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Larter, David B.; Bodner, Matthew (28 November 2018). "The Sea of Azov won't become the new South China Sea (and Russia knows it)". Defense News. Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
- ^ "Russia-Ukraine sea clash in 300 words". BBC News. 30 November 2018. Archived from the original on 5 December 2018. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
- ^ Osborn, Andrew; Polityuk, Pavel (25 November 2018). "Russia fires on and seizes Ukrainian ships near annexed Crimea". Reuters. Archived from the original on 7 December 2018. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
spiegelwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Troianovski, Anton; Ferris-Rotman, Amie (27 November 2018). "Russia shrugs off Western pressure over Black Sea incident with Ukraine". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 14 January 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
bbcmartiallawwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Hodge, Nathan; Berlinger, Josh (26 November 2018). "Ukrainian lawmakers approve martial law as tensions with Russia escalate". CNN. Archived from the original on 26 November 2018. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
bbc28novwas invoked but never defined (see the help page).