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 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. 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. 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.
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. 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. 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. Three Ukrainian crew members were injured in the clash, and all twenty-four Ukrainian sailors from the captured ships were detained by Russia.
Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko 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. The Russian government called the incident a deliberate provocation by President Poroshenko ahead of the 2019 Ukrainian presidential election. 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.
Background
The Kerch Strait runs between the coasts of Crimea and Russia's Taman Peninsula, connecting the Sea of Azov with the Black Sea. It is the sole access route for ships travelling to and from Ukraine's eastern port cities, most notably Mariupol. 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. Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 (the annexation is not officially recognised by the United Nations) and has since controlled the land on both sides of the strait. Immediately following the annexation Russia announced the construction of the Crimean Bridge that would span the Kerch Strait. The construction took place without Ukraine's consent and was criticised by Ukraine and other countries, which called it illegal. 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.
Russian inspections of ships rose sharply after the bridge opened in May 2018. These incidents, some of which occurred only 5–7 miles from the Ukrainian coast, caused transit delays for Ukrainian ships, with some reportedly being forced to wait three to seven days before being allowed through. Ukraine reported that in 2018 losses due to increase in cargo shipping cost associated with Russian measures had 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. Ukraine has said that the increase in inspections by the Russian coast guard represents an abuse of that right.
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." Ukrainian border guards accused the boat's crew of entering "territory, which has been under a temporary occupation". The captain of the Nord, Vladimir Gorbenko, faced up to five years in prison.
In late September, the Ukrainian Navy launched an operation to move the search-and-rescue ship Donbas and the tugboat Korets from Odesa to Mariupol. The operation was the first deployment of Ukrainian Navy ships to the Kerch Strait area since the Russian annexation of Crimea. The vessels proceeded from Odesa with the 48-year old Donbas towing the 45-year old Korets. The ships, commanded by Dmytro Kovalenko, Ukrainian Naval Forces Deputy Chief of Staff, 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. Ultimately, the Ukrainian vessels complied with transit procedures, which did not require a request for permission to transit. 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". The ships allowed the 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.
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.
Events
On the morning of 25 November 2018, three Ukrainian naval vessels (Gyurza-M-class gunboats Berdyansk, Nikopol, and the tugboat Yany Kapu) attempted to travel from the Black Sea port of Odesa in south-western Ukraine to the Azov Sea port of Mariupol in eastern Ukraine. Agents of the Ukrainian SBU security service were present on board the ships; according to Ukraine they were providing ordinary counter-intelligence coverage. 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 area, the Russian boats attempted to intercept them, and rammed the tugboat Yany Kapu several times. 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. 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. During this time, the Russians placed a large cargo ship under the bridge, blocking the route into the Sea of Azov. Concurrently, Russia scrambled two fighter jets and two helicopters to patrol the strait. In the evening, the Ukrainian ships turned back to the port in Odesa. As they were leaving, 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.
The Ukrainian Navy reported that six servicemen were injured by the Russian actions. Berdyansk was damaged in her bridge, either by a Sukhoi Su-30 fighter or, according to the Russian version, by 30-mm naval gunfire from the Russian Coast Guard patrol ship Izumrud. According to radio communication between the Russian leadership and Coast Guard ships, two Russian ships were damaged. One was damaged ramming the Ukrainian tugboat Yany Kapu, and the Russian ship Don collided with and damaged the Russian ship Izumrud.
Damage and political response
In the aftermath of the incident, officials from both countries accused the other of provocative behaviour. Ukraine decried the seizure of its ships as illegal. 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". Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko convened the Ukrainian National Security and Defence Council, describing the Russian actions as "unprovoked and crazy".
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. 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. 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. The Ukrainian government rejected this, and said it had informed the Russians of the planned passage through the Kerch Strait in advance. 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". According to Ukraine, contact was established at 03:58 on 25 November, "according to international rules of the sea navigation safety".
Aftermath
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. Also on that day, according to APK-Inform, Ukrainian commercial shipping returned to normal operation after the Kerch Strait was reopened to civilian traffic.
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. 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.
On 27 November, a Crimean court ordered that 12 of the 24 Ukrainian sailors be detained for 60 days. 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. On 29 November, Russian authorities stated that the three hospitalised sailors were discharged from hospital. On 30 November all captured Ukrainian sailors were transferred to (the Russian capital) Moscow.
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. On 4 December Omelyan stated that Russia did let ships reach Berdyansk and Mariupol again. 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. Russia denied it ever blocked vessels from sailing to Ukrainian ports and asserted that any possible disruptions were due to bad weather.
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.
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.
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.
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.
On 18 November 2019, the captured ships were returned to Ukraine. The transfer took place in the sea near the Crimean cape Opuk. 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.