Black Sea Fleet

File:Black Sea map.png

{{Main|Imperial Russian Navy}}

File:Aivazovsky - Black Sea Fleet in the Bay of Theodosia.jpg. Black Sea Fleet in the Bay of Theodosia, Crimea, just before the Crimean War]]

File:Russian Black Sea Fleet after the battle of Synope 1853.jpge, 1853]]

The Black Sea Fleet is considered to have been founded by Prince Potemkin on 13 May 1783, together with its principal base, the city of Sevastopol. Formerly commanded by admirals such as Dmitry Senyavin and Pavel Nakhimov, it is a fleet of great historical and political importance for Russia. During the Russo-Turkish War of 1787–1792 Russian control over Crimea was confirmed and Russian naval forces under the command of Admiral Fyodor Ushakov defeated the Turkish fleet at the Battle of Kerch Strait in 1790, preventing the Turks from landing a force in Crimea; while Ushakov's victory at Tendra allowed the Russians to begin the siege of Izmail, a potent Ottoman stronghold by the Black Sea, which was twice besieged without effect.

During the French Revolutionary Wars, the Black Sea Fleet was initially deployed under the command of Admiral Ushakov, in conjunction with the Turks, against French forces during the Siege of Corfu. The victory led to the establishment of the Septinsular Republic with the island of Corfu then serving as a base for Russian naval units in the Mediterranean operating against the French.

Turkey, encouraged by the French, went to war with Russia in the Russo-Turkish War of 1806–1812. The Russian fleet (deploying from the Baltic, but joining some vessels of the Black Sea Fleet already in the Mediterranean prior to the outbreak of war){{cite web|url=https://www.napoleon-series.org/military-info/battles/Mediterranean/c_medfleet.html|title=Russian Naval Forces in the Mediterranean: 1805 – 1809|access-date=9 January 2021|archive-date=11 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111152257/https://www.napoleon-series.org/military-info/battles/Mediterranean/c_medfleet.html|url-status=live}} under the command of Admiral Dmitry Senyavin played an instrumental role in this conflict securing victories at both the Battle of the Dardanelles (1807) and the Battle of Athos.

After the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars, the Russians, together with the British and French, intervened in the Greek War of Independence defeating the Turkish fleet at the Battle of Navarino in 1827 and helping to secure Greek independence (though once again, the Russian fleet was compelled to deploy from the Baltic). Turkish closure of the Dardanelles Straits then sparked a renewed Russo-Turkish conflict from 1828 to 1829 which led to the Russians gaining further territory along the eastern Black Sea.

The restriction imposed on the Black Sea Fleet by Turkish control of the Straits was influential in motivating Russia from time-to-time to attempt to secure control of the passage, which became a recurrent theme in Russian policy. From 1841 onward, the Russian fleet was formally confined to the Black Sea by the London Straits Convention.{{cite web|url=http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=aa47|title=History of the Crimean War|access-date=4 January 2021|archive-date=4 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204170723/http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=aa47|url-status=live}}

{{main|Crimean War}}

In 1853, the Black Sea Fleet destroyed Turkish naval forces at the Battle of Sinop after the Turks had declared war on Russia. Nevertheless, during the ensuing Crimean War, the Russians were placed on the defensive and the allies were able to land their forces in Crimea and, ultimately, capture Sevastopol.

As a result of the Crimean War, one provision of the 1856 Treaty of Paris was that the Black Sea was to be a demilitarized zone similar to the Island of Åland in the Baltic Sea.

This hampered the Russians during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 and in the aftermath of that conflict, Russia moved to reconstitute its naval strength and fortifications in the Black Sea.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

The Black Sea Fleet would play an instrumental political role in the 1905 Russian Revolution with the crew of the battleship {{Ship|Russian battleship|Potemkin||2}} revolting in 1905 soon after the Navy's defeat in the Russo-Japanese War. The revolt acquired a symbolic character in the lead up to the Russian Revolutions of 1917 and after, as portrayed in the 1925 film by Sergei Eisenstein, Battleship Potemkin. Lenin wrote that the Potemkin uprising had had a huge importance in terms of being the first attempt at creating the nucleus of a revolutionary army.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}

During World War I, there were a number of encounters between the Russian and Ottoman navies in the Black Sea. The Ottomans initially had the advantage due to having under their command the German battlecruiser {{SMS|Goeben||6}}, but after the two modern Russian dreadnoughts {{ship|Russian battleship|Imperatritsa Mariya||2}} and {{ship|Russian battleship|Imperatritsa Ekaterina Velikaya||2}} had been built in Nikolaev, the Russians took command of the sea until the Russian government collapsed in November 1917. German submarines of the Constantinople Flotilla and Turkish light forces would continue to raid and harass Russian shipping until the war's end.

In 1918, some elements of the fleet were interned by the Central Powers as a result of their advance into South Russia. In the April Crimea operation, the goal of both Ukrainians and Germans was to get control over the Black Sea Fleet, anchored in Sevastopol. Former Chief of Staff Mikhail Sablin raised the colours of the Ukrainian National Republic on 29 April 1918,{{Cite web|title=Operation Fleet For Ukraine|date=16 May 2011 |url=https://ukrainianweek.com/operation-fleet-for-ukraine/|language=en-US|publisher=The Ukrainian Week|access-date=1 June 2023|archive-date=1 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230601092533/https://ukrainianweek.com/operation-fleet-for-ukraine/|url-status=live}} and moved a portion of the Ukrainian fleet (two battleships and fourteen destroyers) to Novorossiysk in order to save it from capture by the Germans.

File:ChernomorskieNoviki1916-1917.jpg

He was ordered to scuttle his ships by Lenin but refused to do so. Most ships returned to Sevastopol, where they first came under German control. In November 1918 they came under control of the Allies, who later gave the ships to Wrangel's fleet of the Whites.

In 1919, following the collapse of the Central Powers' occupation in Western Russia, the Red Fleet of Ukraine was established out of certain remnants of the Russian Imperial Fleet. However, subsequently these elements were either scuttled or captured by the Western Allies. During the ensuing Russian Civil War, the chaotic political and strategic situation in southern Russia permitted the intervening Western allies to occupy Odessa, Sevastopol and other centres with relative ease.

Most of the ships of the Black Sea Fleet became part of the "Russian Squadron" of Wrangel's armed forces. Following the defeat of anti-Bolshevik forces and the evacuation of Crimea by White forces, the fleet itself sailed to Tunisia. Out of those ships, some passed to the French Navy while others were sold as scrap.

{{Main|Soviet Navy}}

With the defeat of the anti-Bolshevik Armed Forces of South Russia, the Soviet government took control of all naval elements. The few ships that remained in the Black Sea were scrapped in the 1920s and a large scale new construction programme began in the 1930s. Over 500 new ships were built{{citation needed|date=April 2022}} during that period and a massive expansion of coastal infrastructure took place. The Black Sea Fleet was commanded by Vice Admiral F.S. Oktyabrskiy on the outbreak of war with Germany in June 1941.

{{main|Soviet Navy surface raids on Western Black Sea|Black Sea Campaigns (1941–44)|Soviet Black Sea Fleet during the Battle of Stalingrad|Romanian Navy during World War II}}

During World War II despite the scale of the German/Axis advance in southern Russia, and the capture of Crimea by Axis forces in mid-1942, the Fleet, though badly mauled, gave a creditable account of itself as it fought alongside the Red Army during the Siege of Odessa and the Battle of Sevastopol.John Erickson, The Road to Stalingrad, Cassel Military Paperbacks, 2003, p.205

Soviet hospital ship {{ship||Armenia|ship|2}} was sunk on 7 November 1941 by German aircraft while evacuating civilians and wounded soldiers from Crimea. It has been estimated that approximately 5,000 to 7,000 people were killed during the sinking, making it one of the deadliest maritime disasters in history. There were only 8 survivors.{{cite web |url=http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?17800 |title=MV Armenia (Армения) (+1941) |website=Wrecksite.eu |date=27 October 2014 |access-date=16 April 2022 |archive-date=30 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111230234934/http://wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?17800 |url-status=live }}

With the end of World War II, the Soviet Union effectively dominated the Black Sea region. The Soviet Union controlled the entire north and east of the Black Sea while pro-Soviet regimes were installed in Romania and Bulgaria. As members of the Warsaw Pact, the Romanian and Bulgarian navies supplemented the strength of the Soviet Black Sea Fleet.{{cite web |last1=Sanders |first1=Deborah |title=The Bulgarian Navy after the Cold War: Challenges of Building and Modernizing an Effective Navy |url=https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1201&context=nwc-review |publisher=Naval War College Review |date=2015 |access-date=3 January 2021 |archive-date=24 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210824142525/https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1201&context=nwc-review |url-status=live }} Only Turkey remained outside the Soviet Black Sea security regime and the Soviets initially pressed for joint control of the Bosporus Straits with Turkey; a position which Turkey rejected.{{cite journal|url=https://www.csis.org/analysis/geostrategic-importance-black-sea-region-brief-history|title=The Geostrategic Importance of the Black Sea Region: A Brief History|website=www.csis.org|date=2 February 2017|last1=Toucas|first1=Boris|access-date=3 January 2021|archive-date=23 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201223225445/https://www.csis.org/analysis/geostrategic-importance-black-sea-region-brief-history|url-status=live}}

In 1952, Turkey decided to join NATO, placing the Bosporus Straits in the Western sphere of influence. Nevertheless, the terms of the Montreux Convention limited NATO's options with respect to directly reinforcing Turkey's position in the Black Sea. The Soviets, in turn, had some of their naval options in the Mediterranean restricted by the Montreux Convention limitations.{{cite web |last1=McCormick |first1=Gordon H. |title=The Soviet Presence in the Mediterranean |url=https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/papers/2008/P7388.pdf |website=RAND |date=October 1987 |access-date=3 January 2021 |archive-date=2 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202041526/https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/papers/2008/P7388.pdf |url-status=live }}

In the later post-war period, along with the Northern Fleet, the Black Sea Fleet provided ships for the 5th Operational Squadron in the Mediterranean, which confronted the United States Navy during the Arab-Israeli wars, notably during the Yom Kippur War in 1973.On Airpower.org, [http://www.onairpower.org/docs/Reference:Air_Defense_of_the_5th_%28Mediterranean%29_Naval_Squadron%2C_1970-1972 Military Thought article on Soviet Mediterranean squadron air defence] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727143841/http://www.onairpower.org/docs/Reference%3AAir_Defense_of_the_5th_%28Mediterranean%29_Naval_Squadron%2C_1970-1972 |date=27 July 2011 }}. Retrieved 30 May 2008.

File:Monument to Heroes of the Black Sea Fleet Squadron in Sevastopol.jpg Black Sea Fleet Squadron 1941–1944 in Sevastopol, featuring the list of 28 military ships that distinguished themselves in battles with German invaders]]

In 1988 Coastal Troops and Naval Aviation units of the Black Sea Fleet included:{{Cite web|title=Red Banner Black Sea Fleet|url=http://www.ww2.dk/new/navy/CHF.htm|website=www.ww2.dk|last=Holm|first=Michael|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130527122542/http://www.ww2.dk/new/navy/CHF.htm|archivedate=27 May 2013}}

• Danube Flotilla:
• 116th River Ship Brigade (Izmail, Odesa Oblast)
• 112th Reconnaissance Ship Brigade (Lake Donuzlav (Mirnyy), Crimean Oblast)
• 37th Rescue Ship Brigade (Sevastopol, Crimean Oblast)
• Marine and Coastal Defense Forces Department
• 810th Naval Infantry Brigade (Sevastopol, Crimean Oblast)
• 362nd independent Coastal Missile Regiment (Balaklava, Crimean Oblast)
• 138th independent Coastal Missile Regiment (Chernomorsk, Crimean Oblast)
• 417th independent Coastal Missile Regiment (Sevastopol, Crimean Oblast)
• 51st independent Coastal Missile Regiment (Mekenzerye, Crimean Oblast)
• Naval Air Forces Department of the Black Sea Fleet
• 2nd Guards Maritime Missile Aviation Division (Gvardeyskoye, Crimean Oblast)(three regiments of maritime attack Tu-22M2s{{Cite web|title=Aviation Regiments|url=http://www.ww2.dk/new/navy/aviation%2520regiments.htm|access-date=1 June 2023|website=www.ww2.dk|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130527122311/http://www.ww2.dk/new/navy/aviation%20regiments.htm|archivedate=27 May 2013}}
• 5th Maritime Missile Aviation Regiment (Veseloye, Crimean Oblast) – disbanded 15.11.94.
• 124th Maritime Missile Aviation Regiment (Gvardeskoye, Crimean Oblast) – disbanded 1993.
• 943rd Maritime Missile Aviation Regiment (Oktyabrskoye) – disbanded 1996.
• 30th independent Maritime Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment (Saki-Novofedorovka, Crimean Oblast)(Tu-22P)
• 318th independent Anti-Submarine Aviation Regiment (Lake Donuzlav, Crimean Oblast)
• 78th independent Shipborne Anti-Submarine Helicopter Regiment (Lake Donuzlav, Crimean Oblast)
• 872nd independent Shipborne Anti-Submarine Helicopter Regiment (Kacha, Crimean Oblast)
• 917th independent Transport Aviation Regiment (Kacha, Crimean Oblast)
• 859th Training Center for Naval Aviation (Kacha, Crimean Oblast)

In 1989, the 126th Motor Rifle Division at Simferopol was transferred to the Black Sea Fleet from the Odesa Military District. Also that year, the 119th Fighter Aviation Division, with the 86th Guards, 161st, and 841st Guards Fighter Aviation Regiments, joined the Fleet from the 5th Air Army.{{cite web|url=http://www.ww2.dk/new/air%20force/division/iad/119iad.htm|title=119th Nevelskaya Red Banner order of Suvorov Fighter Aviation Division|last=Holm|first=Michael|website=ww2.dk|access-date=15 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120318052215/http://www.ww2.dk/new/air%20force/division/iad/119iad.htm|archive-date=18 March 2012|url-status=live}} The 86th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment became part of the Moldovan Air Force upon the breakup of the Soviet Union. The 841st at Meria airport (between Poti and Batumi in the Adjar ASSR) (Georgian SSR) became the 841st independent Guards Anti-Submarine Helicopter Regiment in May 1991 and was disbanded in October 1992.The 841st Guards IAP was the former 66th Guards IAP (:ru:66-й гвардейский истребительный авиационный полк)

The 43rd Aviation Sevastopol Red Banner Order of Kutuzov Regiment of Fighter-Bombers, after being included in the Air Force of the Red Banner Black Sea Fleet on 1 December 1990, was renamed the 43rd Separate Naval Assault Aviation Sevastopol Red Banner Order of Kutuzov Regiment.

With the fall of the Soviet Union and the demise of the Warsaw Pact, the military importance of the fleet was degraded and it suffered significant funding cuts and the loss of its major missions.

In the early 1990s the fleet had 645 ships and 72,000 personnel.Kobasa, Askold I. (December 1995). [https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADA305239.pdf A Strategic-Military Analysis of the Ukrainian Armed Forces] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240125185738/https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADA305239.pdf |date=25 January 2024 }}. Naval Postgraduate School. p. 57. Retrieved 25 January 2024.

In 1992, the major part of the personnel, armaments and coastal facilities of the Fleet fell under formal jurisdiction of the newly independent Ukraine as they were situated on Ukrainian territory. Later, the Ukrainian government ordered the establishment of its own Ukrainian Navy based on the Black Sea Fleet; several ships and ground formations declared themselves Ukrainian.

However, this immediately led to conflicts with the majority of officers who appeared to be loyal to Russia. According to pro-Ukrainian sailors they were declared "drunkards and villains" and they and their families were harassed. They have also claimed that their names were branded "traitors to Russia" on local graffiti.{{cite news|title="Crimea should be Ukrainian, but without bloodshed." How Ukraine saved the peninsula 25 years ago|url=https://lb.ua/news/2020/07/16/461879_krim_maie_buti_ukrainskim_ale_bez.html|work=LB.ua|date=16 July 2020|language=Ukrainian|access-date=18 July 2020|archive-date=18 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200718155801/https://lb.ua/news/2020/07/16/461879_krim_maie_buti_ukrainskim_ale_bez.html|url-status=live}} Simultaneously, pro-Russian separatist groups became active in the local politics of Ukraine's Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol where the major naval bases were situated, and started coordinating their efforts with pro-Moscow seamen.

During this time the Georgian Civil War broke out. Fighting erupted between two separatist minorities of South Ossetia and Abkhazia supported by Russia on one side and the Georgian government led by Zviad Gamsakhurdia on the other. However, he was ousted during the so-called Tbilisi War in 1991. The new government continued the fighting against the break-away republics, but at the same time asked Russia's president Boris Yeltsin for support against the 'Zviadists' who were trying to regain power. This led to the Black Sea Fleet landing in Georgia (despite the unsettled dispute over ownership of the fleet), and resulted in the Battle of Poti.{{Cite web|url=https://apnews.com/article/88f4c0514a58d02dada7358a88de3700|title=Russian Troops to Land at Georgian Ports|website=AP NEWS|access-date=9 March 2023|archive-date=16 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221116135816/https://apnews.com/article/88f4c0514a58d02dada7358a88de3700|url-status=live}}

Presidents Leonid Kuchma of Ukraine and Boris Yeltsin of Russia negotiated terms for dividing the fleet, and to ease the tensions, on 10 June 1995 the two governments signed an interim treaty,[https://www.nytimes.com/1995/06/10/world/russia-and-ukraine-settle-dispute-over-black-sea-fleet.html Russia and Ukraine Settle Dispute Over Black Sea Fleet] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220516155556/https://www.nytimes.com/1995/06/10/world/russia-and-ukraine-settle-dispute-over-black-sea-fleet.html |date=16 May 2022 }}, 10 June 1995 establishing a joint Russo-Ukrainian Black Sea Fleet under bilateral command (and Soviet Navy flag) until a full-scale partition agreement could be reached. Formally, the Fleet's Commander was to be appointed by a joint order of the two countries' presidents. However, Russia still dominated the Fleet unofficially, and a Russian admiral was appointed as Commander; the majority of the fleet personnel adopted Russian citizenship. Minor tensions between the Fleet and the new Ukrainian Navy (such as electricity cut-offs and sailors' street-fighting) continued.

In 1996 the 126th Motor Rifle Division was disestablished.

Moscow mayor Yuriy Luzhkov campaigned to annex the city of Sevastopol, which housed the fleet's headquarters and main naval base, and in December the Russian Federation Council officially endorsed the claim. Spurred by these territorial claims, Ukraine proposed a "special partnership" with NATO in January 1997.{{Cite book |last=Glenn E. |first=Curtis |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/97007563 |title=Russia: A Country Study |publisher=Federal Research Division, Library of Congress |year=1998 |isbn=0-8444-0866-2 |location=Washington DC |page=xcii |oclc=36351361 |access-date=25 August 2022 |archive-date=24 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220824200530/https://www.loc.gov/item/97007563 |url-status=live }}

File:Soviet and Russian Black Sea Fleet.jpg, far left) in Sevastopol, August 2007]]

On 28 May 1997, Russia and Ukraine signed several agreements regarding the fleet including the Partition Treaty, establishing two independent national fleets and dividing armaments and bases between them.{{cite book|title=Ukraine: A History|author=Subtelny, Orest|publisher=University of Toronto Press|year=2000|isbn=0-8020-8390-0 |page=[https://archive.org/details/ukrainehistory00subt_0/page/600 600]|author-link=Orest Subtelny|url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/ukrainehistory00subt_0/page/600}} Ukraine agreed to lease major parts of its facilities to the Russian Black Sea Fleet until 2017.{{cite news|title= Crimean peninsula could be the next South Ossetia|author=Krushelnycky, Askold|work=The Independent|date=28 August 2008}} However, permanent tensions on the lease details continued. The Fleet's main base was still situated in the Crimean port city of Sevastopol. In 2009 the Yushchenko Ukrainian government declared that the lease would not be extended and that the fleet would have to leave Sevastopol by 2017.[http://www.unian.net/eng/news/news-274818.html No Russian fleet in Ukraine beyond 2017 –Ukrainian PM : Ukraine News by UNIAN] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080925152655/http://www.unian.net/eng/news/news-274818.html |date=25 September 2008 }}. Unian.net (24 September 2008).

Due to the lack of fleet facilities in Russia, the former naval area at the Port of Novorossiysk was revived in September 1994, and officially reorganised as Novorossiysk Naval Base in 1997. The Russian Federation planned to house the headquarters and the bulk of the fleet there, and undertook a major upgrade of Novorossiysk military facilities starting in 2005 and finishing in 2022.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

In April 2010 President Yanukovych renegotiated and extended the Russian leasehold until 2042 and an option for an additional five years until 2047 plus consideration of further renewals. This deal proved controversial in Ukraine.[http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/04/21/russia.ukraine/index.html?hpt=T2 Russia, Ukraine agree on naval-base-for-gas deal] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140425153935/http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/04/21/russia.ukraine/index.html?hpt=T2 |date=25 April 2014 }}, CNN (21 April 2010)[http://www.kyivpost.com/news/politics/detail/64650/ Our Ukraine: Yanukovych should be impeached] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100424101804/http://www.kyivpost.com/news/politics/detail/64650/ |date=24 April 2010 }}, Kyiv Post (21 April 2010)[http://www.kyivpost.com/news/politics/detail/65103/ Ukrainian parliament ratifies agreement extending Russian Black Sea Fleet's presence in Crimea] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101123022916/http://www.kyivpost.com/news/politics/detail/65103/ |date=23 November 2010 }}, Kyiv Post (27 April 2010)[http://www.kyivpost.com/news/politics/detail/65113/ Oppositional deputies throw eggs in Lytvyn] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605192433/http://www.kyivpost.com/news/politics/detail/65113/ |date=5 June 2011 }}, Kyiv Post (27 April 2010)[http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/65109/ Police clash with protesters in front of Ukrainian parliament] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605192439/http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/65109/ |date=5 June 2011 }}, Kyiv Post (27 April 2010) It appeared to violate the constitutional ban on basing foreign military forces, and would eventually lead to high treason charges.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

In this regard, relations between Russia and Ukraine over the status of the Fleet continued to be strained. In an August 2009 letter to Russian President Medvedev, Ukrainian President Yushchenko complained about alleged "infringements of bilateral agreements and Ukrainian legislation"[http://www.taraskuzio.net/media13_files/30.pdf The Crimea: Europe's Next Flashpoint?] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140309221523/http://www.taraskuzio.net/media13_files/30.pdf |date=9 March 2014 }}, By Taras Kuzio, November 2010

File:Vladimir Putin in Ukraine 28-29 July 2001-17.jpg on board the flagship Moskva, July 2001]]

In June 2009, the head of the Security Service of Ukraine said that after 13 December 2009, all officers from the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) represented at the Black Sea Fleet would be required to leave Ukraine. From then, the Security Service of Ukraine would ensure the security of the Black Sea Fleet, including Russian sailors on Ukrainian territory.[http://www.unian.net/eng/news/news-321411.html All FSB officers working at Russian Black Sea Fleet must leave Ukraine –SBU] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220113155027/https://www.unian.info/society/233527-all-fsb-officers-working-at-russian-black-sea-fleet-must-leave-ukraine-sbu.html |date=13 January 2022 }}, UNIAN (17 June 2009) However, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry, employees of the FSB working at the Black Sea Fleet facilities were to remain on Ukrainian territory "in line with bilateral agreements".[http://www.unian.net/eng/news/news-321653.html Russia says FSB to stay in Crimea] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090623112051/http://www.unian.net/eng/news/news-321653.html |date=23 June 2009 }}, UNIAN (18 June 2009) In 2010, based on an agreement between the Ukrainian and Russian governments, military counterintelligence officers from the Federal Security Service returned to the Black Sea Fleet base.[http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/66474/ Russian counterintelligence officers to return to Sevastopol] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606040837/http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/66474/ |date=6 June 2011 }}, Kyiv Post (12 May 2010)

Despite these differences, joint exercises between the Ukrainian Navy and the Black Sea Fleet of Russia resumed with a command-staff exercise in June 2010 after a seven-year interval.{{cite news|url=http://english.ruvr.ru/2010/04/16/6503071.html|title=Russia and Ukraine resume joint naval exercises|date=16 April 2010|publisher=Voice of Russia|access-date=22 April 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100419164120/http://english.ruvr.ru/2010/04/16/6503071.html|archive-date=19 April 2010|url-status=dead}} In May 2011, Russia and Ukraine resumed their joint "Peace Fairway" (Farvater Mira) naval exercises.{{cite web|url=https://www.unn.com.ua/ru/news/365702-ukrayinsko-rosiyskiy-farvater-miru--2011-startuvav-u-sevastopoli|title=Украинско-российский "Фарватер мира – 2011" стартовал в Севастополе|website=Информационное агентство Украинские Национальные Новости (УНН). Все онлайн новости дня в Украине за сегодня – самые свежие, последние.|date=2 February 2024|access-date=10 February 2020|archive-date=18 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211018115254/https://www.unn.com.ua/ru/news/365702-ukrayinsko-rosiyskiy-farvater-miru--2011-startuvav-u-sevastopoli|url-status=live}}

The newly independent nation of Georgia, which also hosted several bases of the Soviet Black Sea Fleet when it was the Georgian SSR, also claimed a share of the Fleet, including 32 naval vessels formerly stationed at Georgia's Black Sea port of Poti. Not a CIS member at that time, Georgia was not, however, included in the initial negotiations in January 1992. Additionally, some low-importance bases situated in the Russian-backed breakaway autonomy of Abkhazia soon escaped any Georgian control.Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's [http://www.friends-partners.org/friends/news/omri/1997/05/970530I.html (opt, mozilla, unix,english,,new) Newsline] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605164231/http://www.friends-partners.org/friends/news/omri/1997/05/970530I.html |date=5 June 2011 }}. Vol. 1, No. 42, Part I, 30 May 1997

In 1996, Georgia resumed its demands, and the Russian refusal to allot Georgia a portion of the ex-Soviet navy became another bone of contention in the progressively deteriorating Georgian-Russian relations. This time, Ukraine endorsed Tbilisi's claims, turning over several patrol boats to the Georgian Navy and starting to train Georgian crews, but was unable to include in the final fleet deal a transfer of the formerly Poti-based vessels to Georgia. Later, the rest of the Georgian share was decided to be ceded to Russia in return for diminution of debt.

Russia employed part of the fleet during the 2008 Georgian conflict. Russian units operating off Abkhazia region resulted in a reported skirmish and sinking of a ship of the Georgian Navy. Since the 2008 South Ossetia war the Russian Black Sea Fleet has not taken part in any joint naval exercises involving Georgian warships.[http://www.unian.net/eng/news/news-321523.html Russia's Black Sea Fleet rules out joint drills with Georgia], UNIAN (17 June 2009) However, such a statement has little meaning since the Georgian Navy has ceased to exist (early 2009 it was merged with the Georgian coast guard).[http://finchannel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=25836&Itemid=42 Navy to Merge with Coast Guard] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090819074452/http://finchannel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=25836&Itemid=42 |date=19 August 2009 }}, FINANCIAL (3 December 2008)

{{main|Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation|Russo-Ukrainian War}}

The 2014 political crisis in Ukraine rapidly engulfed Crimea where pro-Russian separatist sentiment was strong.O’Loughlin, J., & Toal, G. (2019). The Crimea conundrum: legitimacy and public opinion after annexation. Eurasian Geography and Economics, 60(1), 6–27. https://doi.org/10.1080/15387216.2019.1593873 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/citedby/10.1080/15387216.2019.1593873?scroll=top&needAccess=true{{cite web|url=https://nv.ua/publications/rokirovki-v-sbu-kto-takie-malikov-ostafiychuk-i-frolov-55722.html|date=25 June 2015|work=Novoe Vremia|language=ru|script-title=ru:Рокировки в СБУ. Кто такие Маликов, Остафийчук и Фролов|trans-title=Castling the SBU. Who are Malikov, Ostafiychuk and Frolov|access-date=1 January 2016|archive-date=2 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502231709/https://nv.ua/publications/rokirovki-v-sbu-kto-takie-malikov-ostafiychuk-i-frolov-55722.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://new-sebastopol.com/news/novosti_sevastopolya/Sevastopolskiy_gorsovet_obratilsya_k_vlastyam_Ukraini_s_trebovaniem_zapretit_deyatelnost_VO_Svoboda|script-title=ru:Севастопольский горсовет обратился к властям Украины с требованием запретить деятельность ВО «Свобода»|trans-title=Sevastopol City Council called Ukrainian authorities to ban All-Ukrainian Union Svoboda|work=Novy Sevastopol|language=ru|date=28 January 2014|access-date=22 January 2016|archive-date=29 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191029170901/http://new-sebastopol.com/news/novosti_sevastopolya/Sevastopolskiy_gorsovet_obratilsya_k_vlastyam_Ukraini_s_trebovaniem_zapretit_deyatelnost_VO_Svoboda|url-status=live}}{{better source needed|date=April 2022}} When the Russian Government determined to seize Crimea, specialist Russian military units appear to have played the central role. In March, the Ukrainians claimed that units of the 18th Motor Rifle Brigade, 31st Air Assault Brigade and 22nd Spetsnaz Brigade were deployed and operating in Crimea, instead of Black Sea Fleet personnel, which violated international agreements signed by Ukraine and Russia.{{cite news|url=http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/03/5/7017615/|script-title=uk:Генштаб ЗСУ: у Криму – не лише військові з частин Чорноморського флоту|trans-title=General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces: in Crimea – not just soldiers from units of Black Sea Fleet|newspaper=Ukrayinska Pravda|language=uk|date=5 March 2014|access-date=30 December 2014|archive-date=8 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140308050302/http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/03/5/7017615/|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://interfax.com.ua/news/general/194412.html|date=4 March 2014|access-date=30 December 2014|language=ru|script-title=ru:В Крыму находятся российские военнослужащие не только из частей ЧФ РФ, утверждают в Генштабе ВСУ|trans-title=The Black Sea Fleet are not the only Russian fighting forces to be found in Crimea, says the General Staff of AF of Ukraine|archive-date=31 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331091018/https://interfax.com.ua/news/general/194412.html|url-status=live}} Nevertheless, at minimum the Black Sea Fleet played a supporting role including with respect to preventing the departure of Ukrainian naval vessels from Crimea.{{cite news|url = https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-naval-fleet-idUSBREA270M920140308|title = Ukraine facing loss of its navy as Russian forces in Crimea dig in|newspaper = Reuters|date = 8 March 2014|last1 = Osborn|first1 = Andrew|access-date = 9 January 2021|archive-date = 19 December 2014|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141219143917/http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/08/us-ukraine-crisis-naval-fleet-idUSBREA270M920140308|url-status = live}} Other sources suggested that the 810th Naval Infantry Brigade of the Fleet was also involved.{{cite news|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/russian-troops-syria-brigade-crimea-putin-assad-islamic-state/27240966.html|title=Evidence Suggests Key Russian Brigade In Crimea Seizure Deploying To Syria|website=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty|last1=Eckel|first1=Mike|access-date=18 January 2021|archive-date=10 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210410192647/https://www.rferl.org/a/russian-troops-syria-brigade-crimea-putin-assad-islamic-state/27240966.html|url-status=live}}

After the annexation of Crimea, the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the Ukrainian Navy were evicted from their bases and subsequently withdrew from the peninsula.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26656617|title=Ukraine 'preparing withdrawal of troops from Crimea'|work=BBC News|date=19 March 2014|access-date=20 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140320004745/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26656617|archive-date=20 March 2014|url-status=live}} During the occupation, Russian forces seized 54 out of 67 ships of the Ukrainian Navy.{{cite web |title=ITAR-TASS: Russia – Russian state flags raised over most of Ukrainian mil units, ships in Crimea |url=http://en.itar-tass.com/russia/724901 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140322153429/http://en.itar-tass.com/russia/724901 |archive-date=22 March 2014 |access-date=23 April 2014 |publisher=En.itar-tass.com}}{{Unreliable source?|date=August 2022|certain=y}} According to sources from Black Sea Fleet Headquarters, inspections of all ships were to be done by the end of 2014.{{cite web|url=http://en.ria.ru/military_news/20140327/188798830/Inspection-of-Ukrainian-Ships-Entering-Russias-Black-Sea-Fleet-To-Be-Done-by-Years-End.html|title=Inspection of Ukrainian Ships Entering Russia's Black Sea Fleet To Be Done by Year's End | Defense | RIA Novosti|publisher=En.ria.ru|date=27 March 2014|access-date=23 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407074859/http://en.ria.ru/military_news/20140327/188798830/Inspection-of-Ukrainian-Ships-Entering-Russias-Black-Sea-Fleet-To-Be-Done-by-Years-End.html|archive-date=7 April 2014|url-status=live}}{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable (WP:NOTRS).|date=August 2022}} On 8 April 2014 an agreement was reached between Russia and Ukraine to return Ukrainian Navy materials to Ukraine proper.[http://www.janes.com/article/36695/russia-begins-returning-ukraine-naval-vessels-and-aircraft Russia begins returning Ukraine naval vessels and aircraft] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140418042848/http://www.janes.com/article/36695/russia-begins-returning-ukraine-naval-vessels-and-aircraft |date=18 April 2014 }}, Jane's Defence Weekly (12 April 2014) The greater portion of the Ukrainian naval ships and vessels were then returned to Ukraine but Russia suspended this process after Ukraine did not renew its unilaterally declared ceasefire on 1 July 2014 in the conflict in the Donbas.{{cite news|url=http://korrespondent.net/ukraine/politics/3401903-korrespondent-na-malenkom-flotu-na-chto-seichas-sposobny-ostatky-ukraynskoho-flota|title=Корреспондент: На маленьком флоту. На что сейчас способны остатки украинского флота|last=Korrespondent.net|access-date=10 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022072617/http://korrespondent.net/ukraine/politics/3401903-korrespondent-na-malenkom-flotu-na-chto-seichas-sposobny-ostatky-ukraynskoho-flota|archive-date=22 October 2014|url-status=live}} According to the fleet commander Aleksandr Vitko, this happened because the vessels were old "and, if used [by Ukraine], could hurt its own people".{{in lang|uk}} [http://www.bbc.co.uk/ukrainian/entertainment/2014/07/140728_sevastopol_navy_day_sa.shtml Holiday without brother: Sevastopol celebrated Navy Day] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140730000219/http://www.bbc.co.uk/ukrainian/entertainment/2014/07/140728_sevastopol_navy_day_sa.shtml |date=30 July 2014 }}, BBC Ukrainian (28 July 2014)

Crimea was then formally annexed into Russia through a referendum, but this was declared invalid by United Nations General Assembly Resolution 68/262.{{cite news |author1=Alex Felton |author2=Marie-Louise Gumuchian |date=27 March 2014 |title=U.N. General Assembly resolution calls Crimean referendum invalid |url=http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/27/world/europe/ukraine-crisis/ |access-date=20 October 2015 |publisher=cnn.com |archive-date=30 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030114444/https://www.cnn.com/2014/03/27/world/europe/ukraine-crisis/ |url-status=live }}

{{Update section|date=March 2024}}

File:Учения полка ЗРК армейского корпуса Черноморского флота.jpg

From that point, Russia proceeded to consolidate its military position in Crimea, which it now regards as an integral part of the Russian Federation, though this position is not one supported by the vast majority of the international community. The Russian seizure of Crimea in 2014 changed the situation and role of the Black Sea Fleet significantly. Analysis undertaken by Micheal Peterson of the US Naval War College suggested that since the Russian seizure of Crimea, the modernization of Russian shore-based assets and of the Black Sea Fleet itself assisted in re-establishing Russian military dominance in the region. Specifically Peterson argued in 2019: "Russian maritime dominance in the Black Sea is back. The shift was made possible by Moscow's 2014 seizure of Crimea and subsequent buildup of combat and maritime law enforcement capabilities in the region".{{cite web|url=https://warontherocks.com/2019/01/the-naval-power-shift-in-the-black-sea/|title=The Naval Power Shift in the Black Sea|date=9 January 2019|website=War on the Rocks|access-date=25 September 2020|archive-date=20 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120234107/https://warontherocks.com/2019/01/the-naval-power-shift-in-the-black-sea/|url-status=live}}

Prior to the annexation of Crimea,{{when|date=March 2024}} divergent announcements had been made concerning the future composition of the fleet. In June 2010, Russian Navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Vladimir Vysotsky announced that Russia was reviewing plans for the naval modernization of the Black Sea Fleet. The plans include 15 new warships and submarines by 2020.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}} These vessels were to partially replace the reported decommissioning of Kerch, {{ship|Russian cruiser|Ochakov||2}} (decommissioned in 2011 and sunk as a blockship in 2014), several large support ships, and a diesel-electric submarine. Also in 2010, Russian Navy Headquarters sources projected that, by 2020, six frigates of the Project 22350 Admiral Gorshkov class, six submarines of Project 677 Lada class, two large landing ships of Project 11711 Ivan Gren class and four class-unspecified ships would be delivered. Due to the obsolescence of the Beriev Be-12 by 2015, they were planned to be replaced with Il-38s. Sukhoi Su-24M aircraft were planned to be upgraded to Su-24M2 at the same time.{{cite web |url=http://flot.com/news/navy/index.php?ELEMENT_ID=56395 |title=Черноморская противолодочная авиация оказалась под угрозой исчезновения |language=ru |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110711014221/http://flot.com/news/navy/index.php?ELEMENT_ID=56395 |archive-date=11 July 2011 |website=Flot.com |date=20 October 2010}}{{cite web |url=http://rusnavy.com/news/newsofday/index.php?ELEMENT_ID=10601 |title=Black Sea Fleet to get 18 new warships and renew naval aviation till 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101128092147/http://rusnavy.com/news/newsofday/index.php?ELEMENT_ID=10601 |archive-date=28 November 2010 |website=Rusnavy.com |date=25 October 2010}}{{cite web |url=http://rusnavy.com/news/navy/index.php?ELEMENT_ID=10637 |title=A general criticized Black Sea Fleet aviation |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101220030632/http://rusnavy.com/news/navy/index.php?ELEMENT_ID=10637 |archive-date=20 December 2010 |website=Rusnavy.com |date=27 October 2010}}{{update after|2024|3|24}}

Since the annexation of Crimea, the composition of the Black Sea Fleet shifted focus to the Improved Kilo-class submarines instead of the Lada, the {{sclass|Admiral Grigorovich|frigate|1}}s and at least three new classes of missile corvettes (the {{sclass|Steregushchiy|corvette|5}}, {{sclass2|Karakurt|corvette|5}} and Buyan-M classes). The deployment of the Admiral Gorshkov-class frigate with the Black Sea Fleet was still anticipated, though in reduced numbers.{{cite web | title=Three latest frigates Admiral Gorshkov class of Project 22350 will join the Russian Navy Pacific fleet | website=Navy Recognition | date=16 June 2020 | url=https://www.navyrecognition.com/index.php/news/defence-news/2020/june/8599-three-latest-frigates-admiral-gorshkov-class-of-project-22350-will-join-the-russian-navy-pacific-fleet.html | access-date=24 November 2020 | archive-date=10 January 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110074248/https://www.navyrecognition.com/index.php/news/defence-news/2020/june/8599-three-latest-frigates-admiral-gorshkov-class-of-project-22350-will-join-the-russian-navy-pacific-fleet.html | url-status=live }} The replacement of the Black Sea Fleet's Soviet-era missile boats and corvettes with vessels of more modern design had been a priority since 2010. A similar modernization is also taking place in the Baltic Fleet and the Caspian Flotilla. Utilizing Russia's internal waterways provides the Russian Navy with the capacity to transfer both corvettes and other light units, such as landing craft, among its three western fleets and the Caspian Flotilla as may be required.{{cite web|url=https://eng.mil.ru/en/structure/forces/navy/news/more.htm?id=12354276|title=Ships of the Caspian Flotilla continue their inter-fleet passage across the Don to Azov Sea : Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation|website=eng.mil.ru|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220414195032/https://eng.mil.ru/en/structure/forces/navy/news/more.htm?id=12354276|access-date=29 January 2022|archive-date=14 April 2022|url-status=live}} Analysis in May 2022 suggested that it might be feasible for the Russian Navy even to move its Kilo-class submarines between the Black Sea and the Baltic via the internal waterways.{{cite web | url=http://www.hisutton.com/Russian-Navys-Secret-Internal-Waterways.html | title=H I Sutton - Covert Shores | access-date=23 May 2022 | archive-date=23 May 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220523175035/http://www.hisutton.com/Russian-Navys-Secret-Internal-Waterways.html | url-status=live }}

The projection of power into the Mediterranean also returned{{when|date=March 2024}} as a significant role for the Black Sea Fleet with the creation of the Russian Navy's permanent task force in the Mediterranean. Both the Black Sea Fleet and the Caspian Flotilla have supported Russian involvement in the Syrian Civil War with units from the former now routinely deployed into the Mediterranean.{{cite web|url=https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2020/07/russia-is-using-treaty-clause-to-change-submarine-balance-in-mediterranean/|title=Russian Black Sea Sub Deployments to Mediterranean Could Violate Treaty|date=8 July 2020|access-date=24 November 2020|archive-date=21 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021164139/https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2020/07/russia-is-using-treaty-clause-to-change-submarine-balance-in-mediterranean/|url-status=live}}{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/OXAN-DB210555/full/html|doi=10.1108/OXAN-DB210555|chapter=Black Sea Fleet projects Russian power westwards|title=Emerald Expert Briefings|year=2016|volume=oxan-db|issue=oxan-db|access-date=13 October 2020|archive-date=13 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201013230944/https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/OXAN-DB210555/full/html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://news.usni.org/2020/10/21/russian-navy-seen-escorting-iranian-tankers-bound-for-syria|title=Russian Navy Seen Escorting Iranian Tankers Bound for Syria|date=21 October 2020|access-date=22 October 2020|archive-date=22 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022022147/https://news.usni.org/2020/10/21/russian-navy-seen-escorting-iranian-tankers-bound-for-syria|url-status=live}} The deployment of submarines from the Black Sea Fleet to the Mediterranean has become{{when|date=March 2024}} a routine occurrence (though the need to send them for "maintenance" in the Baltic, so as to comply with terms of the Montreux Convention, lengthens the timeframe of such deployments significantly).{{cite web|url=http://www.hisutton.com/Russian-Submarines-Montreux-Problem.html|title=H I Sutton – Covert Shores|website=www.hisutton.com|access-date=25 December 2021|archive-date=25 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211225214225/http://www.hisutton.com/Russian-Submarines-Montreux-Problem.html|url-status=live}}{{full citation needed|date=March 2024}} In late 2021 it was reported that one of the new Priboy-class helicopter assault ships, the Mitrofan Moskalenko, had been earmarked to enter service with the Black Sea Fleet "within the next few years" in the role of fleet flagship.{{cite web|url=https://tass.com/defense/1347055|title=Mitrofan Moskalenko helicopter carrier to become Russian Black Sea Fleet flagship – source|website=TASS|access-date=8 October 2021|archive-date=8 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211008113014/https://tass.com/defense/1347055|url-status=live}} If confirmed such a deployment would significantly enhance the fleet's power projection capabilities.{{according to whom|date=March 2024}}

Also significant is the build-up of Russian surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missile assets in the region. Dmitry Gorenburg of the Centre for Naval Analysis (CNA) has noted in 2018 that: "Russia's expanded military footprint in Crimea allows it to carry out a range of operations that it was not capable of prior to 2014. The deployment of S-400, Bastion-P and Bal missiles allows the Russian military to establish an anti-access/area denial zone (A2/AD) covering almost all of the Black Sea. By using a combination of ground-based and ship-based missiles, backed with strong electronic warfare capabilities, the Russian military can inhibit military movement into the Black Sea and deny freedom of action to an opponent if it does make it into the theater. The long-range sea-, air-, and ground-launched missiles deny access, while shorter-range coastal and air defense systems focus on the area denial mission. The result is several interlocking air defense zones".{{cite web|url=https://warontherocks.com/2018/07/is-a-new-russian-black-sea-fleet-coming-or-is-it-here/|title=Is a New Russian Black Sea Fleet Coming? Or Is It Here?|date=31 July 2018|website=War on the Rocks|access-date=27 September 2020|archive-date=28 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200928060459/https://warontherocks.com/2018/07/is-a-new-russian-black-sea-fleet-coming-or-is-it-here/|url-status=live}}

{{As of|2020}}, ongoing technological upgrades of this already robust SAM network were planned during the 2020s.{{cite web|url=https://eurasiantimes.com/russia-to-modify-its-s-400-missiles-making-it-much-more-lethal-economical-to-operate/|title=Russia To Modify Its S-400 Missiles Making It Much More Lethal & Economical To Operate|first=Smriti|last=Chaudhary|date=12 October 2020|website=Latest Asian, Middle-East, EurAsian, Indian News|access-date=13 October 2020|archive-date=14 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201014222618/https://eurasiantimes.com/russia-to-modify-its-s-400-missiles-making-it-much-more-lethal-economical-to-operate/|url-status=live}} Others, such as Michael Kofman of CNA, argued in 2019 that while there is no A2/AD doctrine or term in Russian military strategy, Russian forces nevertheless are organized at an operational and strategic level to deploy a wide range of overlapping defensive and offensive capabilities that extend beyond just one theatre of operations like the Black Sea.{{cite web|url=https://warontherocks.com/2019/09/its-time-to-talk-about-a2-ad-rethinking-the-russian-military-challenge/|title=It's Time to Talk About A2/AD: Rethinking the Russian Military Challenge|date=5 September 2019|website=War on the Rocks|access-date=1 October 2020|archive-date=30 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930134738/https://warontherocks.com/2019/09/its-time-to-talk-about-a2-ad-rethinking-the-russian-military-challenge/|url-status=live}}

The evident American response to the dense shore-based anti-ship and air defence capabilities that Russia has developed in the Black Sea region, and elsewhere, has been to place greater emphasis on striking at potential Black Sea and other targets utilizing stand-off air-launched cruise missiles deployed on American long-range bombers.{{cite web|url=https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/33787/air-force-reveals-b-1bs-were-practicing-decapitating-russias-black-sea-fleet-last-week|title=Air Force Reveals B-1Bs Were Practicing Decapitating Russia's Black Sea Fleet Last Week|first=Joseph|last=Trevithick|website=The Drive|date=June 2020|access-date=25 September 2020|archive-date=26 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926065316/https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/33787/air-force-reveals-b-1bs-were-practicing-decapitating-russias-black-sea-fleet-last-week|url-status=live}} Additionally, the United States, the United Kingdom and Turkey have entered into contracts to supply new corvettes, missile-armed fast attack craft, patrol boats and unmanned air vehicles to the Ukrainian Navy.{{cite web|url=https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2021/01/ukrainian-navy-commander-confirms-future-procurements-including-ada-class-corvettes/|title=Ukrainian Navy Commander Confirms Future Procurements Including Ada-class Corvettes|date=5 January 2021|access-date=6 January 2021|archive-date=7 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210107124641/https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2021/01/ukrainian-navy-commander-confirms-future-procurements-including-ada-class-corvettes/|url-status=live}}

In 2020, the Black Sea Fleet obtained seven new warships and auxiliary ships, including corvette Grayvoron, patrol ship Pavel Derzhavin, seagoing tug Sergey Balk, as well as a harbour tugs and three hydrographic survey vessels. In 2021, Russian sources said that the same number of vessels should enter service.{{cite web|url=https://tass.com/defense/1289195|title=Russian Black Sea Fleet to get seven warships in 2021|date=13 May 2021|website=tass.com|access-date=13 May 2021|archive-date=13 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513125215/https://tass.com/defense/1289195|url-status=live}}{{update after|2024|3|24}}

On 29 January 2021, three US naval vessels entered the Black Sea for the first time in three years.{{cite web|url = https://breakingdefense.com/2021/01/two-us-destroyers-enter-black-sea-russia-responds/|title = Two US Destroyers Enter Black Sea; Russia Responds|date = 28 January 2021|access-date = 13 May 2021|archive-date = 28 April 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210428074754/https://breakingdefense.com/2021/01/two-us-destroyers-enter-black-sea-russia-responds/|url-status = live}} On 1 February, the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky argued for NATO membership for Ukraine.{{cite web|url=https://www.kyivpost.com/ukraine-politics/zelensky-ukraines-nato-membership-is-one-of-most-important-security-issues-in-europe.html|title=Zelensky: Ukraine's NATO membership is one of most important security issues in Europe – KyivPost – Ukraine's Global Voice|date=1 February 2021|website=KyivPost|access-date=13 May 2021|archive-date=13 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220113155036/https://www.kyivpost.com/ukraine-politics/zelensky-ukraines-nato-membership-is-one-of-most-important-security-issues-in-europe.html|url-status=live}} On 19 March, another significant US naval deployment to the Black Sea took place, as cruiser USS Monterey and destroyer USS Thomas Hudner entered the sea on 19 and 20 March respectively.{{cite tweet|number=1372825592731668482|user=USNavyEurope|title=BREAKING: #USSMonterey part of @TheCVN69 began its straits transit into the Black Sea to conduct #maritimesecurity…|date=19 March 2021}}{{cite tweet|number=1373169955563315200|user=USNavyEurope|title=BREAKING: 2nd @usnavy ship - #USSThomasHudner - began its northbound transit into the #BlackSea to conduct…|date=20 March 2021}} Prior to the scheduled deployment, on 12 March Russian cruiser Moskva made an exit to sea and on 19 March all six submarines of the Black Sea Fleet went to sea, which was an unprecedented event.{{cite tweet |last=Lee |first=Rob |user=RALee85 |number=1370386377653813259 |date=12 March 2021 |title=The Black Sea Fleet's flagship the Moskva Project 1164 cruiser departed Sevastopol to conduct a training exercise in the Black Sea. https://t.co/UiMeYC8I2k https://t.co/CYJkFbL4wu |language=en |access-date=14 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427181755/https://twitter.com/RALee85/status/1370386377653813259 |archive-date=27 April 2021 |url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.navyrecognition.com/index.php/news/defence-news/2021/march/9858-russia-deploys-all-black-sea-submarines-during-nato-drills.html|title=Russia deploys all Black Sea submarines during NATO drills|date=19 March 2021 |access-date=13 May 2021|archive-date=23 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210423172059/https://www.navyrecognition.com/index.php/news/defence-news/2021/march/9858-russia-deploys-all-black-sea-submarines-during-nato-drills.html|url-status=live}}

Russian ground forces also started a buildup on the border with Ukraine. On 2 April, Zelensky had his first telephone conversation with Biden, and on 6 April he called NATO's Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg pressuring NATO to speed up Ukrainian path to the membership.{{Cite news|url=https://www.ft.com/content/e7dc0f67-fd63-4c2b-bcc3-fdbe06c4672a|title=Ukraine pressures Nato to speed path to membership|first1=Roman|last1=Olearchyk|first2=Michael|last2=Peel|newspaper=Financial Times|date=6 April 2021|access-date=13 May 2021|archive-date=15 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515233200/https://www.ft.com/content/e7dc0f67-fd63-4c2b-bcc3-fdbe06c4672a|url-status=live}} On 8 April, Russia started moving ten of its Caspian Flotilla warships to the Black Sea. Six amphibious and three artillery boats of Serna and Shmel classes, as well as a hydrographic boat GS-599, were reported in transit, while Black Sea Fleet frigate Admiral Essen conducted an artillery exercise, usually done to raise the readiness for the amphibious landing.{{cite web|url=https://function.mil.ru/news_page/country/more.htm?id=12353278|title=Десантные и артиллерийские катера Каспийской флотилии приступили к межфлотскому переходу : Министерство обороны Российской Федерации|website=function.mil.ru}}{{cite web|url=https://function.mil.ru/news_page/country/more.htm?id=12353314|title=Фрегат "Адмирал Эссен" Черноморского флота провёл артиллерийские стрельбы по береговым целям : Министерство обороны Российской Федерации|website=function.mil.ru}}{{cite tweet |last=Sohtaoğlu |first=Mete |user=metesohtaoglu |number=1380483440605286400 |date=9 April 2021 |title=#Turkey- #US sends diplomatic notification to Turkey for passage of 2 warships through Turkish straits to reach Black Sea #Ukraine #Russia |language=en |access-date=14 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515131841/https://twitter.com/metesohtaoglu/status/1380483440605286400 |archive-date=15 May 2021 |url-status=live}}{{cite tweet |last=Lee |first=Rob |user=RALee85 |number=1381675977747619843 |date=12 April 2021 |title=The Caspian Flotilla sent all six of its Project 11770 Serna-class landing craft to the Black Sea. Photos: Сергей Пивоваров https://t.co/cAMXN6W7DO https://t.co/8LrwbxuJin |language=en |access-date=14 June 2021}}{{cite tweet |last=Lee |first=Rob |user=RALee85 |number=1381346417923477509 |date=11 April 2021 |title=Photo of three of the Caspian Flotilla's Project 1204 Shmel-class artillery/patrol boats and the GS-599 hydrographic ship in the Volga-Don Canal. https://t.co/TGKYckV9M0 https://t.co/SmU2Eu4oU7 |language=en |access-date=14 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411204109/https://twitter.com/RALee85/status/1381346417923477509 |archive-date=11 April 2021 |url-status=live}} The same day, the US decided to send two warships to the Black Sea.{{cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/08/politics/ukraine-us-black-sea/index.html|title=US considering sending warships to Black Sea amid Russia-Ukraine tensions|author=Barbara Starr and Jennifer Hansler|website=CNN|access-date=29 January 2022|archive-date=29 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220129034950/https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/08/politics/ukraine-us-black-sea/index.html|url-status=live}}

On 9 April 2021, tensions rose further and Ukraine promised not to attack the separatists, while Russia considered intervening.{{cite web|url = https://english.alarabiya.net/News/world/2021/04/09/Ukraine-army-chief-rules-out-offensive-against-pro-Russia-separatists|title = Ukraine army chief rules out offensive against pro-Russia separatists|date = 9 April 2021|access-date = 13 May 2021|archive-date = 12 May 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210512175228/https://english.alarabiya.net/News/world/2021/04/09/Ukraine-army-chief-rules-out-offensive-against-pro-Russia-separatists|url-status = live}}{{cite web|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/04/09/russia-troops-border-donbass-war-putin-zelensky-ukraine/|title=Is Russia Preparing to Go to War in Ukraine?|first=Amy|last=Mackinnon|date=9 April 2021|access-date=13 May 2021|archive-date=7 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220207023445/https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/04/09/russia-troops-border-donbass-war-putin-zelensky-ukraine/|url-status=live}} On the same day, two Black Sea Fleet corvettes, Vishny Volochyok and Gravoron, conducted an exercise.{{cite web|url=https://function.mil.ru/news_page/country/more.htm?id=12353526|title=Малые ракетные корабли Черноморского флота провели стрельбы по надводной цели в море в рамках контрольной проверки : Министерство обороны Российской Федерации|website=function.mil.ru}} The two US destroyers were clarified by Turkey to be USS Roosevelt and USS Donald Cook, while Putin stressed the importance of the Montreux Convention in a telephone conversation with Turkish president Recep Erdogan.{{cite web|url=https://tass.com/world/1276187|title=US destroyers Roosevelt, Donald Cook to enter Black Sea next week – TV|website=TASS|access-date=13 May 2021|archive-date=13 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513125217/https://tass.com/world/1276187|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://tass.com/politics/1276201|title=Putin underscores importance of Montreux Convention preservation to Erdogan|website=TASS|access-date=13 May 2021|archive-date=17 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517182332/https://tass.com/politics/1276201|url-status=dead}} On 14 April, the deployment of the two US destroyers was cancelled.{{cite news | url = https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/us-cancels-warships-deployment-black-sea-turkish-diplomatic-sources-2021-04-14/ | title = U.S. cancels warships deployment to Black Sea –Turkish diplomatic sources | website = Reuters | date = 14 April 2021 | access-date = 28 November 2021 | archive-date = 28 November 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211128091833/https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/us-cancels-warships-deployment-black-sea-turkish-diplomatic-sources-2021-04-14/ | url-status = live }} On 17 April, amphibious ships Aleksandr Otrakovsky and Kondoponga of the Northern Fleet and Kaliningrad and Korolyov of the Baltic Fleet strengthened the amphibious warfare capabilities of the Black Sea Fleet.{{cite tweet |last=Yaylalı |first=Devrim |user=devrimyaylali |number=1383282969708679171 |date=17 April 2021 |title=Russian Northern Fleet Ropucha class large landing ships Kondopogaand Aleksandr Otrakovskiypassed northbound Istanbul this morning. This is the first Black Sea deployment for A. Otrakovskiy since 2018 and for Kondopoga since 2012. https://t.co/PHQ1rezeDP |language=en |access-date=14 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417124354/https://twitter.com/devrimyaylali/status/1383282969708679171 |archive-date=17 April 2021 |url-status=live}} On 30 April, the cruiser Moskva fired a Vulkan anti-ship missile for the first time.{{cite web |url=https://www.navyrecognition.com/index.php/naval-news/naval-news-archive/2021/april/10076-russian-cruiser-moskva-successfully-fired-vulkan-missile-for-first-time.html |title=Russian cruiser Moskva successfully fired Vulkan missile for first time |website=www.navyrecognition.com |date=30 April 2021 |access-date=13 May 2021 |archive-date=4 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220504194406/https://www.navyrecognition.com/index.php/naval-news/naval-news-archive/2021/april/10076-russian-cruiser-moskva-successfully-fired-vulkan-missile-for-first-time.html |url-status=live }}

In November, further tensions started amidst the build-up of Russian ground forces on the Ukraine border. On 2 November, the destroyer USS Porter{{cite web|url=https://www.military.com/daily-news/2021/11/02/us-warships-sail-black-sea-drawing-russian-ire.html|title=Military Daily News|access-date=28 November 2021|archive-date=28 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211128091833/https://www.military.com/daily-news/2021/11/02/us-warships-sail-black-sea-drawing-russian-ire.html|url-status=live}} entered the Black Sea, followed on 25 November by the destroyer USS Arleigh Burke.{{cite news|url=https://tass.com/defense/1366515|title=USS Arleigh Burke enters Black Sea 'on routine patrol' – Sixth Fleet|website=TASS|access-date=28 November 2021|archive-date=28 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211128091833/https://tass.com/defense/1366515|url-status=live}} In late October, the Russian Black Sea fleet held a large exercise with a cruiser, a frigate and three corvettes.{{cite web|url=https://iz.ru/1237146/2021-10-18/chernomorskii-flot-rossii-privlek-bolee-40-korablei-na-ucheniia-v-krymu|title=Черноморский флот России привлек более 40 кораблей на учения в Крыму|first=Елена|last=Плавская|date=18 October 2021|website=Известия|access-date=28 November 2021|archive-date=28 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211128091833/https://iz.ru/1237146/2021-10-18/chernomorskii-flot-rossii-privlek-bolee-40-korablei-na-ucheniia-v-krymu|url-status=live}}

{{main|2021 Black Sea incident}}

On 23 June 2021, the United Kingdom's {{HMS|Defender|D36|6}} undertook a freedom of navigation patrol through the disputed waters around the Crimean Peninsula.{{cite news|last1=Fisher|first1=Lucy|last2=Sheridan|first2=Danielle|date=24 June 2021|title=Dominic Raab warned MoD about Royal Navy's Crimea plans|work=The Daily Telegraph|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/06/24/exclusive-dominic-raab-warned-mod-royal-navys-crimea-plans/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/06/24/exclusive-dominic-raab-warned-mod-royal-navys-crimea-plans/ |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-status=live|url-access=subscription|access-date=27 June 2021}}{{cbignore}} The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation and border guards said they fired warning shots from coast guard patrol ships and dropped bombs from a Sukhoi Su-24 attack aircraft in the path of Defender after, according to the Russian Defence Ministry, it had allegedly strayed for about 20 minutes as far as 3 km (2 miles) into waters off the coast of Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014 in a move mostly unrecognised internationally.{{cite news|author=|date=23 June 2021|title=Russian military, border guards fire warning shots as British destroyer enters Russian territorial waters in Black Sea|work=Interfax|url=https://interfax.com/newsroom/top-stories/72104/|access-date=23 June 2021|archive-date=23 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210623112907/https://interfax.com/newsroom/top-stories/72104/|url-status=live}}{{cite news|author=|date=23 June 2021|title=Russia fires warning shots at British destroyer in Black Sea|work=Al Jazeera|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/6/23/russia-fires-warning-shots-at-british-destroyer-in-black-sea|access-date=23 June 2021|archive-date=23 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210623115631/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/6/23/russia-fires-warning-shots-at-british-destroyer-in-black-sea|url-status=live}} The UK military denied any warning shots were fired and said the ship was in innocent passage in Ukraine's territorial sea, later clarifying that heavy guns were fired three miles astern and could not be considered to be warning shots.{{cite news|date=23 June 2021|title=UK denies Russia fired warning shots near British warship|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-57583363|access-date=23 June 2021|archive-date=23 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210623114712/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-57583363|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last1=Sabbagh|first1=Dan|last2=Roth|first2=Andrew|date=24 June 2021|title=Britain acknowledges surprise at speed of Russian reaction to warship|newspaper=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/jun/24/british-warships-might-enter-crimean-waters-again-says-minister|access-date=24 June 2021|archive-date=24 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624091338/https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/jun/24/british-warships-might-enter-crimean-waters-again-says-minister|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last=Nechepurenko|first=Ivan|author-link=Ivan Nechepurenko|date=23 June 2021|title=Russia Says It Fired Warning Shots at a U.K. Warship Near Crimea|work=The New York Times|location=Moscow, Russia|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/23/world/europe/russia-uk-destroyer-crimea.html|url-access=subscription|access-date=27 June 2021|archive-date=27 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210627031946/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/23/world/europe/russia-uk-destroyer-crimea.html|url-status=live}}

{{further|Russian invasion of Ukraine|Crimea attacks (2022–present)}}

A build-up of Russian forces around Ukraine and in Belarus began toward the end of 2021, ostensibly for exercises. In February 2022, the Black Sea Fleet was reinforced by six landing ships: three Ropucha-class landing ships (Minsk (127), Korolev (130) and Kaliningrad (102)) were drawn from the Baltic Fleet while two (Georgy Pobedonosets (016) and Olenegorsky Gornyak (012)) came from the Northern Fleet. The Ivan Gren-class landing ship, Pyotr Morgunov (117) also deployed to the Black Sea from the Northern Fleet.{{cite web|url=https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2022/02/6-russian-warships-and-submarine-now-entering-black-sea-towards-ukraine/|title=6 Russian Warships and Submarine Now Entering Black Sea Towards Ukraine|date=8 February 2022|access-date=8 February 2022|archive-date=4 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220304011118/https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2022/02/6-russian-warships-and-submarine-now-entering-black-sea-towards-ukraine/|url-status=live}} The 22nd Army Corps (subordinate to the Black Sea Fleet) was also reinforced, including by the 247th Regiment of the 7th Guards Mountain Air Assault Division as well as by the 56th Guards Air Assault Regiment, subordinate to the same division.{{cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/f/?id=0000017d-a0bd-dca7-a1fd-b1bd6cb10000|title=Russia builds up forces on Ukrainian border|website=Politico|date=9 December 2021|access-date=24 February 2022|archive-date=10 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211210003833/https://www.politico.com/f/?id=0000017d-a0bd-dca7-a1fd-b1bd6cb10000|url-status=live}} On the eve of the conflict, it was reported that the headquarters of the 58th Combined Arms Army had deployed to Crimea commanding between 12 and 17 battalion tactical groups.{{cite tweet |user=HN_Schlottman |number=1495446742833283073 |first=Henry |last=Schlottman |title=Updated map of BTG deployments IVO #Ukraine |date=20 February 2022 |access-date=4 March 2022}}{{cite web|url=https://www.gfsis.org/russian-monitor/view/3133|title=Rondeli Russian Military Digest: Issue 121, 14 February – 20 February 2022|website=www.gfsis.org|access-date=24 February 2022|archive-date=24 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224185424/https://www.gfsis.org/russian-monitor/view/3133|url-status=live}}

The Russian invasion of Ukraine began on 24 February 2022 and it was initially reported that this included an amphibious landing at Odesa by elements of Russian Naval Infantry and the Black Sea Fleet.{{cite web|url=https://tass.com/politics/1409309|title=NBC journalist claims Russian troops landed in Odessa|website=TASS|access-date=24 February 2022|archive-date=24 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221124134845/https://tass.com/politics/1409309|url-status=live}} However, the report of a landing at Odesa on 24 February subsequently proved to be false.{{cite web|url=https://news.usni.org/2022/02/24/russian-navy-has-limited-role-in-initial-invasion-of-ukraine|title=Russian Navy Has Limited Role in Initial Invasion of Ukraine|date=24 February 2022|access-date=27 February 2022|archive-date=27 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220227140055/https://news.usni.org/2022/02/24/russian-navy-has-limited-role-in-initial-invasion-of-ukraine|url-status=live}} On 24 February 2022, the cruiser Moskva and the patrol ship Vasily Bykov bombarded Snake Island in the Danube Delta and captured it from its Ukrainian garrison.{{cite web |author=Tim McMillan |url=https://thedebrief.org/the-battle-for-kyiv-russias-invasion-of-ukraine-day-2/ |title=The Battle For Kyiv: Russia's Invasion of Ukraine Day 2 |publisher=The Debrief |date=25 February 2022 |accessdate=4 March 2022 |archive-date=25 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220225184334/https://thedebrief.org/the-battle-for-kyiv-russias-invasion-of-ukraine-day-2/ |url-status=live }} On 26 February 2022 it was reported that Russian forces made an amphibious assault at Mariupol utilizing half of their landing ships in the Black Sea. A second Russian amphibious group was said still to be positioned in the vicinity of Odesa.{{cite web|url=https://news.usni.org/2022/02/25/russian-navy-launches-amphibious-assault-on-ukraine|title=UPDATED: Russian Navy Launches Amphibious Assault on Ukraine; Naval Infantry 30 Miles West of Mariupol|date=25 February 2022|access-date=27 February 2022|archive-date=21 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231021070847/https://news.usni.org/2022/02/25/russian-navy-launches-amphibious-assault-on-ukraine|url-status=live}}

On 28 February 2022, Turkey indicated that it was closing the Dardanelles Straits to all foreign warships for the duration of the conflict. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu argued that the move was consistent with terms of the Montreux Convention. An exception would be allowed for Russian ships returning from the Mediterranean to Black Sea bases where they were registered.{{cite web|url = https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2022/02/turkey-closes-the-dardanelles-and-bosphorus-to-warships/|title = Turkey closes the Dardanelles and Bosphorus to warships|date = 28 February 2022|access-date = 3 March 2022|archive-date = 6 March 2022|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220306000601/https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2022/02/turkey-closes-the-dardanelles-and-bosphorus-to-warships/|url-status = live}}{{cite web|url = https://www.overtdefense.com/2022/03/03/turkey-implements-the-montreux-convention-regarding-the-regime-of-the-straits/|title = Blocking the Bosphorus – Turkey Implements the Montreux Convention|date = 3 March 2022|access-date = 3 March 2022|archive-date = 3 March 2022|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220303204148/https://www.overtdefense.com/2022/03/03/turkey-implements-the-montreux-convention-regarding-the-regime-of-the-straits/|url-status = live}}

As of early March 2022, the Ukrainian navy was confirmed to have lost two vessels: the frigate Hetman Sahaidachny, scuttled by its crew to avoid capture,{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-navy-frigate-sunk-mykolaiv-b2029108.html |title=Ukrainian Navy scuttles flagship as Russia advances on Mykolaiv |work=The Independent |date= |accessdate=8 March 2022 |archive-date=7 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220307163927/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-navy-frigate-sunk-mykolaiv-b2029108.html |url-status=live }} and the patrol vessel Sloviansk, reported sunk by Russian action on 3 March 2022.{{cite web |url=https://www.navyrecognition.com/index.php/naval-news/naval-news-archive/2022/march/11479-ukrainian-patrol-vessel-sloviansk-reportedly-destroyed.html |title=Ukrainian patrol vessel Sloviansk reportedly destroyed |publisher=Navyrecognition.com |date=4 August 1988 |accessdate=8 March 2022 |archive-date=5 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220405165229/https://www.navyrecognition.com/index.php/naval-news/naval-news-archive/2022/march/11479-ukrainian-patrol-vessel-sloviansk-reportedly-destroyed.html |url-status=live }} On 7 March 2022 it was reported that the Russian patrol ship Vasily Bykov may have been damaged by Ukrainian shore-based multiple-launch rocket fire.{{cite web |url=https://www.navyrecognition.com/index.php/naval-news/naval-news-archive/2022/march/11482-russian-project-22160-patrol-ship-vasily-bykov-reportedly-damaged.html |title=Russian Project 22160 patrol ship Vasily Bykov reportedly damaged |publisher=Navyrecognition.com |date=7 March 2022 |accessdate=8 March 2022 |archive-date=7 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220307172056/https://www.navyrecognition.com/index.php/naval-news/naval-news-archive/2022/march/11482-russian-project-22160-patrol-ship-vasily-bykov-reportedly-damaged.html |url-status=live }} However, the ship was subsequently reported as having entered Sevastopol on 16 March 2022 with no obvious damage.{{cite web|url=https://www.ridus.ru/news/376340|title="Потопленный" Украиной корабль ЧФ России вошел в бухту Севастополя|access-date=16 March 2022|archive-date=16 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220316171842/https://www.ridus.ru/news/376340|url-status=live}}

On 14 March 2022, the Russian source RT reported that the Russian Armed Forces had captured about a dozen Ukrainian ships in Berdiansk. The vessels reported as captured included two Gyurza-M-class artillery boats (including Akkerman), the Matka-class missile boat Pryluky, a Project 1124P (Grisha II)-class corvette (likely an already decommissioned vessel given the absence of active ships of this class in the Ukrainian navy), a Zhuk-class patrol boat, a Yevgenya-class minesweeper, the Polnocny-class landing ship Yuri Olefirenko and a Ondatra-class landing craft.{{cite web|url=https://www.navyrecognition.com/index.php/focus-analysis/11502-analysis-russian-armed-forces-capture-dozen-ukrainian-ships-in-berdyansk.html|title=Analysis: Russian Armed Forces capture dozen Ukrainian ships in Berdyansk|date=14 March 2022|access-date=17 March 2022|archive-date=15 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220315091937/https://www.navyrecognition.com/index.php/focus-analysis/11502-analysis-russian-armed-forces-capture-dozen-ukrainian-ships-in-berdyansk.html|url-status=live}}

On 19 March 2022, the Deputy Commander of Russian Black Sea Fleet Captain First Rank Andrey Nikolaevich Paliy was reportedly killed in action near Mariupol in Ukraine.{{cite web|url=https://mil.in.ua/en/news/ukrainian-defense-forces-eliminated-the-deputy-commander-of-the-russian-black-sea-fleet/|title=Ukrainian Defense Forces eliminated the Deputy Commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet|website=mil.in.ua|access-date=20 March 2022|archive-date=28 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220328045355/https://mil.in.ua/en/news/ukrainian-defense-forces-eliminated-the-deputy-commander-of-the-russian-black-sea-fleet/|url-status=live}}{{cite web |date=20 March 2022 |title=Deputy Commander of the Black Sea Fleet Andrey Paliy died in a special operation near Mariupol – В спецоперации под Мариуполем погиб замкомандующего ЧФ Андрей Палий |url=https://sevastopol.su/news/v-specoperacii-pod-mariupolem-pogib-zamkomanduyushchego-chf-andrey-paliy |access-date=20 March 2022 |website=ForPost |language=ru |archive-date=20 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220320065457/https://sevastopol.su/news/v-specoperacii-pod-mariupolem-pogib-zamkomanduyushchego-chf-andrey-paliy |url-status=live }}

On 22 March 2022, a video appeared of a Raptor-class patrol boat being hit and damaged by an anti-tank guided missile. According to Russian sources, it had to be towed away afterwards.{{cite tweet |user=UAWeapons |number=1506229325598756872 |accessdate=6 December 2022 |date=22 March 2022 |title=#Ukraine: We obtained video that shows that the Azov claim of a Russian Project 03160 "Raptor" patrol boat being struck near #Mariupol is accurate, with 2x 9M113 ATGM being fired, 1 successful hit. }}

On 24 March 2022, the Ukrainian military hit and destroyed the Russian Tapir-class landing ship Saratov at the Port of Berdiansk.{{cite web |date=25 March 2022 |title=Ukrainian military clarifies which Russian landing ship it destroyed |url=https://thehill.com/policy/defense/599736-ukrainian-military-clarifies-which-russian-landing-ship-it-destroyed/amp/ |website=thehill.com |via=www.bbc.com |access-date=14 April 2022 |archive-date=14 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220414221556/https://thehill.com/policy/defense/599736-ukrainian-military-clarifies-which-russian-landing-ship-it-destroyed/amp/ |url-status=live }} In July 2022 it became known that Saratov had been salvaged and would be towed to Kerch, Crimea.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62022476|title=Russia salvages landing ship hit by Ukraine missile fire|website=bbc.com|date=2 July 2022|accessdate=11 July 2022|archive-date=17 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221017182327/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62022476|url-status=live}} Two other Russian Ropucha-class landing ships, the Tsezar Kunikov, and the Novocherkassk, that were docked nearby sailed away, with fire and smoke billowing out of one.{{cite web|url=https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/44904/russian-landing-ship-destroyed-in-massive-explosion-in-captured-ukrainian-port-city|title=Russian Landing Ship Destroyed In Massive Explosion In Captured Ukrainian Port City|work=The Drive|date=24 March 2022|access-date=18 February 2024|archive-date=13 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220413141126/https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/44904/russian-landing-ship-destroyed-in-massive-explosion-in-captured-ukrainian-port-city|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/video-2-russian-warships-escape-as-ukrainian-missiles-blast-a-docked-ship-2022-3|title=Video shows 2 Russian warships escaping as Ukrainian missiles blast a docked ship|website=Business Insider|last=Coleman|first=Julie|date=24 March 2022|access-date=24 March 2022|archive-date=13 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220413071600/https://www.businessinsider.com/video-2-russian-warships-escape-as-ukrainian-missiles-blast-a-docked-ship-2022-3|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7g5ZVwDqLRg|title=Бердянск: взрывы и пожар в порту 24 марта 2022 года|trans-title=Berdyansk: explosions and fire in the port on March 24, 2022|author=Кирилловка.Укр|date=24 March 2022|access-date=26 March 2022|archive-date=27 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220327121511/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7g5ZVwDqLRg|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.overtdefense.com/2022/03/25/russian-landing-ship-badly-damaged-at-berdyansk/|title=What Badly Damaged The Russian Landing Ship at Berdyansk?|newspaper=Overt Defense|date=25 March 2022|access-date=28 March 2022|archive-date=2 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220402135450/https://www.overtdefense.com/2022/03/25/russian-landing-ship-badly-damaged-at-berdyansk/|url-status=live}}

On 30 March 2022 it was reported that, as part of an operation by Russian special forces, the Ukrainian navy Project 1824B reconnaissance ship Pereyaslav was reportedly hit by gunfire at the mouth of the Dnieper river. The extent of the damage was unknown.{{cite web|url=https://www.navyrecognition.com/index.php/naval-news/naval-news-archive/2022/march/11566-ukrainian-project-1824b-ship-pereyaslav-reportedly-hit-by-gunfire.html|title=Ukrainian Project 1824B ship Pereyaslav reportedly hit by gunfire|website=Navy Recognition|date=30 March 2022|access-date=30 March 2022|archive-date=1 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220401080312/http://navyrecognition.com/index.php/naval-news/naval-news-archive/2022/march/11566-ukrainian-project-1824b-ship-pereyaslav-reportedly-hit-by-gunfire.html|url-status=live}}

Also in March 2022, the Russian Navy bombed several civilian ships, including a cargo ship belonging to Bangladesh.{{cite news | url=https://www.reuters.com/world/bangladesh-cargo-ship-hit-by-missile-crew-member-killed-bangladesh-official-2022-03-03/ | title=Two cargo ships hit by blasts around Ukraine, one seafarer killed | newspaper=Reuters | date=3 March 2022 | last1=Saul | first1=Jonathan | last2=Paul | first2=Ruma | access-date=8 November 2022 | archive-date=4 March 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220304065302/https://www.reuters.com/world/bangladesh-cargo-ship-hit-by-missile-crew-member-killed-bangladesh-official-2022-03-03/ | url-status=live }}

On 13 April 2022, Moskva, the fleet's flagship, was severely damaged after an explosion. The Ukrainian government claimed it had hit the ship with two Neptune cruise missiles.{{cite web |last=Presse |first=AFP-Agence France |title=Ukraine Claims Strike On Russian Warship |url=https://www.barrons.com/news/ukraine-claims-strike-on-russian-warship-01649883607 |access-date=13 April 2022 |website=www.barrons.com |language=en-US |archive-date=13 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220413213637/https://www.barrons.com/news/ukraine-claims-strike-on-russian-warship-01649883607 |url-status=live }} The Russian government claimed the damage was a result of an ammunition explosion.{{cite web |url=https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2022-04-13/russia-says-major-ship-in-black-sea-fleet-badly-damaged-in-blast-interfax |title=Russia Says Major Ship in Black Sea Fleet Badly Damaged in Blast – Interfax |date=13 April 2022 |access-date=13 April 2022 |archive-date=14 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220414002231/https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2022-04-13/russia-says-major-ship-in-black-sea-fleet-badly-damaged-in-blast-interfax |url-status=live }} According to the Russian government, everyone on the ship was evacuated.{{cite web | title=Russia says major ship in Black Sea fleet badly damaged in blast | website=The Jerusalem Post | date=14 April 2022 | url=https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-704106 | access-date=14 April 2022 | archive-date=13 April 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220413235815/https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-704106 | url-status=live }} On 14 April, the Russian Ministry of Defence confirmed the ship had sunk.{{cite web |last=Новости |first=Р. И. А. |date=14 April 2022 |title=Минобороны заявило, что при шторме затонул крейсер "Москва" |url=https://ria.ru/20220414/kreyser-1783626130.html |access-date=14 April 2022 |website=РИА Новости |language=ru |archive-date=14 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220414200039/https://ria.ru/20220414/kreyser-1783626130.html |url-status=live }} On 15 April, a United States senior defense official confirmed that the ship was hit by two Ukrainian Neptune missiles about 65 nautical miles south of Odesa.{{Cite news |last=Cooper |first=Helene |date=15 April 2022 |title=Russia's Black Sea flagship was hit by 2 Ukrainian missiles, a U.S. official says. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/15/world/europe/russia-moskva-warship-ukraine-missiles.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=15 April 2022 |archive-date=15 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220415170005/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/15/world/europe/russia-moskva-warship-ukraine-missiles.html |url-status=live }} On 6 May 2022 a letter from the Black Sea Fleet's prosecutor general's office to the family of one of the sailors lost on the Moskva was made public. Families will not be receiving compensation as "the sinking took place in international waters by accident".{{cite web |last1=Korshak |first1=Stefan |title=Kremlin to family members of Moskva cruiser crew: Ship sank by accident, no war compensation |url=https://www.kyivpost.com/eastern-europe/kremlin-to-family-members-of-moskva-cruiser-crew-ship-sank-by-accident-no-war-compensation.html |website=www.kyivpost.com |date=6 May 2022 |publisher=Kyiv Post |access-date=12 May 2022 |archive-date=15 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220515235804/https://www.kyivpost.com/eastern-europe/kremlin-to-family-members-of-moskva-cruiser-crew-ship-sank-by-accident-no-war-compensation.html |url-status=live }}

In early May 2022, Ukraine claimed to have destroyed two Russian Raptor-class patrol boats along with a Serna Class landing craft using a Ukrainian Baykar Bayraktar TB2 Unmanned Air Combat Vehicle (UCAV) near Snake Island.{{cite web |url=https://www.navyrecognition.com/index.php/naval-news/naval-news-archive/2022/may/11684-ukrainian-bayraktar-tb2-ucav-destroys-russian-raptor-class-patrol-boats.html |title=Ukrainian Bayraktar TB2 UCAV destroys Russian Raptor class patrol boats |publisher=Navyrecognition.com |date=2 May 2022 |accessdate=9 May 2022 |archive-date=2 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220502202522/https://www.navyrecognition.com/index.php/naval-news/naval-news-archive/2022/may/11684-ukrainian-bayraktar-tb2-ucav-destroys-russian-raptor-class-patrol-boats.html |url-status=live }}

On 8 May 2022, Ukrainian officials released footage showing the destruction of two Raptor-class patrol boats and the damaging of a third one, adding that 46 Russian crew members were killed during the operation.{{cite web |url=https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2022/05/8/7344781/ |title=Zmiinyi (УSnakeФ) Island: Bayraktar UCAVs destroy three Russian Serna and Raptor boats | Ukrayinska Pravda |publisher=Pravda.com.ua |date=5 May 2022 |accessdate=9 May 2022 |archive-date=10 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220510174704/https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2022/05/8/7344781/ |url-status=live }}

In the first week of May 2022, a video appeared of a Ukrainian Bayraktar TB2 drone hitting and sinking a BK-16 high-speed assault boat near Snake Island.{{cite web |url=https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2022/03/list-of-naval-losses-during-2022.html |work=Oryxspioenkop |accessdate=6 December 2022 |title=List Of Naval Losses During The 2022 Russian Invasion Of Ukraine |archive-date=23 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220423082922/https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2022/03/list-of-naval-losses-during-2022.html |url-status=live }} The wreck was later recovered.{{cite tweet |user=Capt_Navy |number=1535515852749029376 |accessdate=8 December 2022 |date=11 June 2022 |title=#war Badly, very badly damaged Russian high-speed coastal patrol boat of the project 02510. Probably combat damage received in the battles for Snake Island. I doubt that this boat will be repaired and returned to service. }}

On 12 May 2022, Ukrainian news media carried reports that, according to the Odesa military spokesman, the Russian logistics vessel Vsevolod Bobrov was on fire near Snake Island.{{cite web |last1=Voytenko |first1=Mikhail |title=Brand new auxiliary ship of Russian Navy suffered major fire in Black sea UPDATE |url=https://www.fleetmon.com/maritime-news/2022/38237/brand-new-auxiliary-ship-russian-navy-suffered-maj/ |website=www.fleetmon.com |publisher=Fleetmon |access-date=12 May 2022 |archive-date=12 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512162350/https://www.fleetmon.com/maritime-news/2022/38237/brand-new-auxiliary-ship-russian-navy-suffered-maj/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last1=Anon |title=Ukraine lines up Russia's Vsevolod Bobrov ship off coast of Snake Island |url=https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3481792-ukraine-lines-up-russias-vsevolod-bobrov-ship-off-coast-of-snake-island.html |website=www.ukrinform.net |date=12 May 2022 |publisher=Ukrinform |access-date=12 May 2022 |archive-date=13 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220513174555/https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3481792-ukraine-lines-up-russias-vsevolod-bobrov-ship-off-coast-of-snake-island.html |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last1=Bazaraa |first1=Danya |title=New Russian Navy ship 'limping back to port on fire after Ukraine strike' |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/breaking-new-russian-navy-ship-26950645 |website=www.mirror.co.uk |date=12 May 2022 |publisher=Mirror |access-date=12 May 2022 |archive-date=12 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512192003/https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/breaking-new-russian-navy-ship-26950645 |url-status=live }} Russia denied the claims.{{Cite news |title=Russia denies Ukraine forces damaged navy ship in Black Sea |agency=Reuters |website=yahoo!life |date=14 May 2022 |url=https://uk.style.yahoo.com/russia-denies-ukraine-forces-damaged-201107478.html?guccounter=1 |access-date=14 May 2022 |archive-date=16 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220816122826/https://uk.style.yahoo.com/russia-denies-ukraine-forces-damaged-201107478.html?guccounter=1 |url-status=live }} Three days later, a US-backed media outlet carried photographs of the ship unharmed moored at Sevastopol.{{cite web |last1=Maritime-Executive |title=Despite Ukrainian Claims, Russian Navy Support Ship Appears Unharmed |url=https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/despite-ukrainian-claims-russian-navy-support-ship-appears-unharmed |website=www.maritime-executive.com |publisher=The Maritime Executive LLC |access-date=18 May 2022 |archive-date=6 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406221345/https://maritime-executive.com/article/despite-ukrainian-claims-russian-navy-support-ship-appears-unharmed |url-status=live }} The ship was also seen with the Pantsir-S mobile surface-to-air missile system on board while docked in Sevastopol.{{cite web|url=https://avia-pro.net/news/na-rossiyskiy-korabl-tylovogo-obespecheniya-vsevolod-bobrov-ustanovili-zrpk-pancir-s|title=On the Russian logistics ship "Vsevolod Bobrov" installed ZRPK "Pantsir-S"|website=avia-pro.net|date=17 May 2022|access-date=19 May 2022|archive-date=19 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220519123637/https://avia-pro.net/news/na-rossiyskiy-korabl-tylovogo-obespecheniya-vsevolod-bobrov-ustanovili-zrpk-pancir-s|url-status=live}}

On 15 May 2022, four Kalibr missiles launched from the Black Sea hit Ukrainian military facilities at Yavoriv, near Lviv. The attack was "probably" carried out by submarines.{{cite web |last=Solomon |first=Erika |date=15 May 2022 |title=Ukraine-Russia War: Live Updates - The New York Times |url=https://www.thechestnutpost.com/ukraine-russia-war-live-updates-the-new-york-times-16027.html |access-date=15 May 2022 |website=The Chestnut Post }}{{Dead link|date=April 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Lviv region's Governor Maxim Kozitsky acknowledged that the target was "completely destroyed".{{Cite news |date=15 May 2022 |title=Missiles destroy military infrastructure in western Ukraine near Polish border, governor says |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/missiles-destroy-military-infrastructure-western-ukraine-near-polish-border-2022-05-15/ |access-date=15 May 2022 |archive-date=8 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221008004744/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/missiles-destroy-military-infrastructure-western-ukraine-near-polish-border-2022-05-15/ |url-status=live }}

On 17 May 2022, the Ministry of Defense of Russia reported that seaborne Kalibr missiles struck railway facilities at Starichi station near Lviv the night before. The attack was aimed at NATO weapons deliveries to Ukraine.{{cite web |title=Ukraine/Russland/NATO – der Sammler am 17. Mai 2022 – Augen geradeaus! |url=https://augengeradeaus.net/2022/05/ukraine-russland-nato-der-sammler-am-17-mai-2022/ |access-date=17 May 2022 |website=augengeradeaus.net |language=en |archive-date=17 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220517072451/https://augengeradeaus.net/2022/05/ukraine-russland-nato-der-sammler-am-17-mai-2022/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last=Новости |first=Р. И. А. |date=17 May 2022 |title=ВС России уничтожили военную технику из США и Европы во Львовской области |url=https://ria.ru/20220517/kalibry-1788982979.html |access-date=17 May 2022 |website=РИА Новости |language=ru |archive-date=17 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220517090649/https://ria.ru/20220517/kalibry-1788982979.html |url-status=live }} Governor Maxim Kozitsky confirmed the damage on railway infrastructure. The command of the Ukrainian Air Defence claims the shooting down of three missiles in the area.{{cite web |date=17 May 2022 |title=Missile attack on infrastructure of Lviv Railway regional branch in Yavoriv district - KyivPost - Ukraine's Global Voice |url=https://www.kyivpost.com/ukraine-politics/missile-attack-on-infrastructure-of-lviv-railway-regional-branch-in-yavoriv-district.html |access-date=17 May 2022 |website=KyivPost |archive-date=17 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220517100705/https://www.kyivpost.com/ukraine-politics/missile-attack-on-infrastructure-of-lviv-railway-regional-branch-in-yavoriv-district.html |url-status=live }}

On 17 June 2022, Russian rescue tug Vasily Bekh was reportedly sunk due to two hits by anti-ship missiles (putatively Harpoons) while carrying personnel, weapons, and ammunition to resupply Russian-occupied Snake Island.{{Cite news |last=Ozberk |first=Tayfun |date=17 June 2022 |title=Ukraine Strikes Russia's Vasily Bekh Rescue Tug With Antiship Missiles |work=Naval News |url=https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2022/06/ukraine-strikes-russias-vasily-bekh-rescue-tug/ |access-date=18 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220618004321/https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2022/06/ukraine-strikes-russias-vasily-bekh-rescue-tug/ |archive-date=18 June 2022}}

On 31 July 2022, a drone strike at the fleet headquarters in Sevastopol wounded several people and forced the cancellation of Navy Day commemorations.{{cite news | url=https://www.rferl.org/a/crimea-navy-day-canceled-sevastapol-attack/31967407.html | title=Russian Navy Day Celebrations Canceled In Crimea's Sevastopol After Reported Drone Attack | newspaper=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty | date=31 July 2022 | last1=RFE/RL's Russian Service | access-date=18 February 2024 | archive-date=24 August 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220824131304/https://www.rferl.org/a/crimea-navy-day-canceled-sevastapol-attack/31967407.html | url-status=live }}{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/31/russia-claims-ukraine-drone-attack-black-sea-fleet-headquarters | title=Russia claims five injured in Ukraine drone attack on Black Sea fleet HQ | newspaper=The Guardian | date=31 July 2022 | last1=Andrew Roth in Moscow, Isobel Koshiw in Kyiv and Pjotr Sauer | access-date=18 February 2024 | archive-date=18 February 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240218011602/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/31/russia-claims-ukraine-drone-attack-black-sea-fleet-headquarters | url-status=live }}

On 9 August 2022, huge explosions occurred at Saky airbase, destroying several fighter planes of the fleet's naval aviation. Some days later, an anonymous Western official said that "[w]e now assess that the events of ... August 9 put more than half of [the] Black Sea fleet's naval aviation combat jets out of use."{{cite news | url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/half-russias-black-sea-fleets-combat-jets-out-operation-western-official-2022-08-19/ | title=Half of Russia's Black Sea fleet's combat jets out of operation, Western official says | newspaper=Reuters | date=19 August 2022 | access-date=20 August 2022 | archive-date=26 August 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220826083536/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/half-russias-black-sea-fleets-combat-jets-out-operation-western-official-2022-08-19/ | url-status=live }} On 16 August 2022, Hvardiiske airbase, a large ammunition dump in Maiske, and an electrical substation in Dzhankoi were hit with explosions, and on 19 August 2022, large explosions were heard at Belbek and Russian antiaircraft batteries were active around the Crimean Bridge at Kerch.{{Cite web |last1=Balmforth |first1=Tom |last2=Hunder |first2=Max |date=19 August 2022 |title=Night of explosions rocks Russian-held areas far from front |url=https://www.aol.com/news/u-n-chief-ukraine-seeks-003227913-142537957.html |access-date=19 August 2022 |website=www.aol.com |language=en-US |archive-date=22 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220822164118/https://www.aol.com/news/u-n-chief-ukraine-seeks-003227913-142537957.html |url-status=live }}

On 17 August 2022, Russian state media announced that Viktor Sokolov had been appointed commander of the fleet without any ceremony, apparently due to the yellow terrorist threat following a series of explosions.{{Cite web |date=17 August 2022 |title=Kremlin 'secretly' replaces Russian Black Sea Fleet commander |url=https://news.yahoo.com/kremlin-secretly-replaces-russian-black-180500904.html |access-date=17 August 2022 |website=The New Voice of Ukraine |language=en-US |agency=Yahoo! News |archive-date=17 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220817193837/https://news.yahoo.com/kremlin-secretly-replaces-russian-black-180500904.html |url-status=live }}

On 29 October 2022, Ukrainian forces used an Unmanned Aerial and Submarine Vehicle to strike Russian forces in Sevastopol, Crimea. According to Russia, Ukrainian UAVs slightly damaged the Natya-class minesweeper Ivan Golubets.{{cite web |url=https://english.nv.ua/nation/russia-reports-minor-damage-to-ivan-golubets-minesweeper-in-drone-attack-50280238.html |title=Russian Defense Ministry reports "minor damage" to Ivan Golubets minesweeper |date=29 October 2022 |access-date=18 February 2024 |archive-date=30 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230530033525/https://english.nv.ua/nation/russia-reports-minor-damage-to-ivan-golubets-minesweeper-in-drone-attack-50280238.html |url-status=live }}

Yury Ivanov-class intelligence ship Ivan Khurs was possibly damaged by one of three Ukrainian sea drones on 24 May 2023.{{cite web |title=Russian warship protecting pipelines attacked by 3 Ukrainian marine drones in the Black Sea, Russian officials say |website=Business Insider |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-warship-unsuccessfully-attacked-three-ukrainian-speedboats-russian-officials-say-2023-5?r=US&IR=T |date=25 May 2023 |access-date=18 February 2024 |archive-date=21 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231021110818/https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-warship-unsuccessfully-attacked-three-ukrainian-speedboats-russian-officials-say-2023-5?r=US&IR=T |url-status=live }}

On 4 August 2023, near the Port of Novorossiysk, the Project 775 Ropucha-class landing ship Olenegorsky Gornyak was seriously damaged by a joint effort of the Ukrainian SBU and the Ukrainian Navy, possibly using a sea drone, and towed to port by the Russian Navy. Following the attack the Ukrainian Navy reported Russian ships leaving port and to some extent dispersing in the Black Sea.{{cite web|url=https://news.yahoo.com/audacious-ukrainian-sea-drone-attack-085500859.html|title=Audacious Ukrainian sea drone attack at Novorossiysk leaves Russian warship listing badly|date=4 August 2023|access-date=18 February 2024|archive-date=4 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230804101207/https://news.yahoo.com/audacious-ukrainian-sea-drone-attack-085500859.html|url-status=live}}

On 13 September 2023, Storm Shadows were used in a strike against the Sevastopol port,{{Cite web |title=British cruise missiles were used in significant Ukrainian attack on Russian submarine |url=https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-strikes-russian-submarine-and-landing-ship-in-audacious-assault-on-crimea-naval-base-12960336 |access-date=13 September 2023 |website=Sky News |language=en |archive-date=13 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230913161620/https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-strikes-russian-submarine-and-landing-ship-in-audacious-assault-on-crimea-naval-base-12960336 |url-status=live }} seriously damaging the Rostov na Donu submarine and seriously damaging (according to some sources, beyond repair{{Cite web |last=Oryx |title=Attack On Europe: Documenting Russian Equipment Losses During The Russian Invasion Of Ukraine |url=https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2022/02/attack-on-europe-documenting-equipment.html |access-date=13 September 2023 |website=Oryx |archive-date=4 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220604015103/https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2022/02/attack-on-europe-documenting-equipment.html |url-status=live }}) the Ropucha-class landing ship Minsk.{{Cite web |title=Two Russian Navy Black sea ships hit by missiles, one destroyed VIDEO |url=https://www.fleetmon.com/maritime-news/2023/42945/two-russian-navy-black-sea-ships-hit-missiles-one-/ |date=13 September 2023 |access-date=23 September 2023 |archive-date=18 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240118193740/https://www.fleetmon.com/maritime-news/2023/42945/two-russian-navy-black-sea-ships-hit-missiles-one-/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |date=13 September 2023 |title=Ukraine launches missile attack on Crimea |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66793900 |access-date=13 September 2023 |archive-date=13 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230913044106/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66793900 |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Edwards |first=Tim Lister,Josh Pennington,Olga Voitovych,Christian |date=13 September 2023 |title=Ukrainian missiles strike Russian warships in Crimean naval base |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/13/europe/crimea-missile-attack-ukraine-russia-intl/index.html |access-date=13 September 2023 |website=CNN |language=en |archive-date=13 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230913153929/https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/13/europe/crimea-missile-attack-ukraine-russia-intl/index.html |url-status=live }}

On 22 September 2023, at least three Storm Shadow missiles hit the Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Sevastopol.

On 4 November 2023, Ukrainian forces struck Zalyv Shipbuilding yard in Russian-occupied Kerch, Crimea, with cruise missiles, damaging the relatively new Karakurt-class corvette Askold (ru), which carries Kalibur cruise missiles.[https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-military-says-it-hit-zalyv-plant-port-city-kerch-crimea-2023-11-04/ Ukraine hits Russian shipyard in Crimea port, damages ship] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231106200832/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-military-says-it-hit-zalyv-plant-port-city-kerch-crimea-2023-11-04/ |date=6 November 2023 }}, Reuters, 5 November 2023 On 6 November 2023 president Zelensky stated that the ship was destroyed.https://www.kyivpost.com/post/23747 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240218044402/https://www.kyivpost.com/post/23747 |date=18 February 2024 }} Ukraine Confirms Destruction of Major Russian Warship], Kyiv Post, 7 November 2023

On 25 December 2023, the large landing ship Novocherkassk was struck by Ukrainian aircraft carrying guided missiles in Port of Feodosiya.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67821515 |title=Russia confirms damage to warship in Black Sea |date=26 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240117080109/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67821515 |archive-date=17 January 2024}}{{cite web |url=https://kyivindependent.com/ukrainian-air-force-destroys-russian-landing-ship-in-occupied-crimea/ |title=Russia confirms its landing ship hit by Ukrainian missile strike in occupied Crimea |date=26 December 2023 |access-date=26 December 2023 |archive-date=19 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240119052212/https://kyivindependent.com/ukrainian-air-force-destroys-russian-landing-ship-in-occupied-crimea/ |url-status=live }}

Late December 2023, Ukraine hit and destroyed a Russian project 205P "Tarantul" (NATO designation: Stenka) guard ship in the port of Sevastopol.{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2024/01/19/ukraines-drone-boats-blew-up-a-russian-warship-three-weeks-ago-but-few-people-noticed-until-now/|title=Ukraine's Drone Boats Blew Up A Russian Warship Three Weeks Ago. But Few People Noticed Until Now.|language=en|first=David|last=Axe|website=Forbes|date=19 January 2024|access-date=20 January 2024|archive-date=19 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240119235701/https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2024/01/19/ukraines-drone-boats-blew-up-a-russian-warship-three-weeks-ago-but-few-people-noticed-until-now/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://ru.krymr.com/a/news-sevastopol-isw-korvet-tarantul-udary-ukrainy-konets-dekabrya/32783013.html|title=ISW о потопленном корвете "Тарантул" возле Севастополя: удары Украины по Крыму в конце декабря оказались успешнее|language=ru|website=Крым.Реалии|date=19 January 2024|access-date=20 January 2024|archive-date=20 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240120020409/https://ru.krymr.com/a/news-sevastopol-isw-korvet-tarantul-udary-ukrainy-konets-dekabrya/32783013.html|url-status=live}}

On 1 February 2024, Ukraine released video claiming to show the sinking of the R-334 Ivanovets using USVs.{{Cite web |author1=Victoria Butenko |author2=Christian Edwards |author3=Alex Stambaugh |date=2024-02-14 |title=Ukraine says it has sunk another warship, disabling a third of Russia's Black Sea Fleet |url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/14/europe/ukraine-says-russian-warship-Tsezar-kunikov-destroyed-black-sea-intl-hnk/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240214120852/https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/14/europe/ukraine-says-russian-warship-Tsezar-kunikov-destroyed-black-sea-intl-hnk/index.html |archive-date=14 February 2024 |access-date=2024-02-14 |website=CNN |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2024-02-14 |title=Ukrainian military says it sank a Russian landing ship in the Black Sea |url=https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-ship-drones-black-sea-8d2a78ab1f1b2a9b04ec8c421782417d |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240214171228/https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-ship-drones-black-sea-8d2a78ab1f1b2a9b04ec8c421782417d |archive-date=14 February 2024 |access-date=2024-02-14 |website=AP News |language=en}}

On 14 February 2024, Ukraine released a video showing the sinking of the Ropucha-class landing ship Tsezar Kunikov off the coast of Crimea.

On 5 March 2024 Sergey Kotov was attacked (again) by maritime drones, with Ukrainian intelligence claiming that the ship was sunk.

On 23 March 2024, the defense forces of Ukraine hit the Ropucha-class landing ships Yamal and Azov. Additionally, they said they hit the landing ship Kostiantyn Olshansky which had previously been part of the Ukrainian navy before 2014.{{Cite web |date=2024-03-26 |title=Ukraine says a third of Russian warships in the Black Sea have been destroyed or disabled |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/ukraine-says-a-third-of-russian-warships-in-the-black-sea-have-been-destroyed-or-disabled |access-date=2024-03-27 |website=PBS NewsHour |language=en-us}}

By March 2024, Ukraine's Navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk said they had disabled or destroyed one third of the Russian Black Sea fleet.

On 6 June 2024, a Project 498 "Saturn" tugboat was destroyed by a Ukrainian naval strike.{{Cite web |date=2024-06-06 |title=Ukraine war latest: Russian tugboat destroyed, Biden calls Putin 'tyrant bent on domination' |url=https://kyivindependent.com/ukraine-war-latest-russian-tugboat-destroyed-biden-calls-putin-tyrant-bent-on-domination/ |access-date=2024-06-06 |website=The Kyiv Independent |language=en}}

On 2 August, Ukraine reported they had hit and sunk the Russian submarine B-237.

The Black Sea Fleet, and other Russian ground and air forces in Crimea, are subordinate to the Southern Military District of the Russian Armed Forces. The Black Sea Fleet is one component of Russian forces in the Southern Military District and is supported by other Russian military formations in the District, including the 4th Air and Air Defence Forces Army.{{cite web |url=https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/2018-12/bp_1812_black_sea_russia_0.pdf |title=Russia and black sea security |date=2018 |website=www.sipri.org |access-date=24 November 2020 |archive-date=28 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220728035711/https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/2018-12/bp_1812_black_sea_russia_0.pdf |url-status=live }} The Russian Coast Guard and National Guard of Russia provide additional armed patrol capabilities, which have also been expanded since the Russian seizure of Crimea to support the enforcement of Russian territorial claims.{{cite web|url=https://warsawinstitute.org/mare-nostrum-strategy-russian-military-activity-black-sea/|title=Mare Nostrum Strategy: Russian Military Activity in the Black Sea|date=21 March 2019|access-date=13 October 2020|archive-date=24 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024172910/https://warsawinstitute.org/mare-nostrum-strategy-russian-military-activity-black-sea/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/meet-russias-new-weapon-against-ukraine-coast-guard-37512|title=Meet Russia's New Weapon Against Ukraine: The Coast Guard|first=Rebecca|last=Pincus|date=29 November 2018|website=The National Interest|access-date=13 October 2020|archive-date=11 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411001751/https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/meet-russias-new-weapon-against-ukraine-coast-guard-37512|url-status=live}}

Black Sea Fleet amphibious vessels being joined by five additional Ropucha-class: (Minsk (127), Korolyov (130) and Kaliningrad (102) from the Baltic Fleet as well as Georgy Pobedonosets (016) and Olenegorsky Gornyak (012) from the Northern Fleet); also deployed to the Black Sea from the Northern Fleet is the Ivan Gren-class vessel Pyotr Morgunov (117); all vessels entered the Black Sea by 9 February and as of March 2022 all were reported on active operations as part of the invasion of Ukraine. The Olenegorsky Gornyak damaged during a drone attack on the port of Novorossiysk on 4 August 2023. The Minsk heavily damaged by a Ukrainian cruise missile strike while dry docked at Sevastopol on 12 September 2023.{{cite web |url=https://twitter.com/Osinttechnical/status/1702454984392978862 |title=Footage of the Russian Ropucha Class Pr.775 LST 'Minsk' hit by a Ukrainian cruise missile in the Sevastopol Shipyard drydocks |website=twitter.com |access-date=14 September 2023}}

In March 2017 four Project 22870 tugs were assigned to the Black Sea Fleet: Vasily Bekh, Professor Nikolay Muru, Captain Guryev, and SB-742.{{Cite web |title=Rescue ship Project 22870 |url=http://russianships.info/eng/rescue/project_22870.htm |access-date=18 June 2022 |website=Russian Ships |archive-date=17 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220617223243/http://russianships.info/eng/rescue/project_22870.htm |url-status=live }} Vasily Bekh was given the name Spasatel Vasily Bekh on 19 April 2021.{{Cite web |title=Russian Tug Spasatel Vasily Bekh (SB-739) |url=https://www.kchf.ru/eng/ship/rescue/sb739.htm |access-date=18 June 2022 |website=Black Sea Fleet |archive-date=17 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220617182549/https://www.kchf.ru/eng/ship/rescue/sb739.htm |url-status=live }} On 17 June 2022, Spasatel Vasily Bekh was sunk by Ukrainian Harpoon anti-ship missiles while on its way to Snake Island in the Black Sea.{{Cite news |date=17 June 2022 |title=What is known about the 'demilitarized' Russian tug, the Vasily Bekh |work=Yahoo News |url=https://www.yahoo.com/video/known-demilitarized-russian-tug-vasily-162400398.html |access-date=18 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220618002648/https://www.yahoo.com/video/known-demilitarized-russian-tug-vasily-162400398.html |archive-date=18 June 2022 |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last=Newdick |first=Thomas |date=17 June 2022 |title=Ukraine Claims Harpoon Missile Attack On Russian Navy Ship |work=The Drive |url=https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/ukraine-claims-harpoon-missile-attack-on-russian-navy-ship |access-date=18 June 2022 |archive-date=30 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630063233/https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/ukraine-claims-harpoon-missile-attack-on-russian-navy-ship |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last=Brown |first=Larisa |date=21 June 2022 |title=Ukraine sinks Russian ship with western weapons |work=The Sunday Times |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/ukraine-sinks-russian-ship-with-western-weapons-zr8bzmbgw |access-date=2 July 2022|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220703222806/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ukraine-sinks-russian-ship-with-western-weapons-zr8bzmbgw |archive-date=3 July 2022}}

• 22nd Army Corps (HQ: Simferopol, Crimea; subordinate to the Black Sea Fleet):{{cite web|url=http://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/Russian%20Ground%20Forces%20OOB_ISW%20CTP_0.pdf|title=Russian Ground Forces Order of Battle|website=www.understandingwar.org|access-date=18 January 2021|archive-date=14 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180314210531/http://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/Russian%20Ground%20Forces%20OOB_ISW%20CTP_0.pdf|url-status=live}}
• 15th Guards Coastal Missile-Artillery Brigade – Sevastopol, Crimea:{{cite web|url=https://www.gfsis.org/maps/russian-military-forces|title=Russian Military Forces: Interactive Map|website=www.gfsis.org|access-date=18 January 2021|archive-date=27 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210127194820/https://www.gfsis.org/maps/russian-military-forces|url-status=live}} 3x K-300P Bastion-P anti-ship missile system (350 to 450 km range),[http://rusnavy.com/news/navy/index.php?ELEMENT_ID=11270 Third Bastion missile system has been delivered to Black Sea Fleet] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111015001253/http://rusnavy.com/news/navy/index.php?ELEMENT_ID=11270 |date=15 October 2011 }}. Rusnavy.com (19 January 2011) P-800 Oniks anti-ship missile system (credited with 300 km to 600–800 km range) (Western designation SS-N-26),{{Cite web|url=http://www.military-today.com/missiles/p800_oniks.htm|title=P-800 Oniks - Anti-ship cruise missile|access-date=25 September 2020|archive-date=20 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190520195100if_/http://www.military-today.com/missiles/p800_oniks.htm|url-status=usurped}}{{cite web|url=https://navalpost.com/russia-developed-enhanced-version-of-oniks-yakhont-cruise-missile/|title=Russia Developed Enhanced Version of Oniks (Yakhont) Cruise Missile – Naval Post – Naval News and Information|first=Dorian|last=Archus|date=25 September 2019|access-date=29 January 2022|archive-date=29 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220129035005/https://navalpost.com/russia-developed-enhanced-version-of-oniks-yakhont-cruise-missile/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/why-russia%E2%80%99s-bastion-p-truck-launched-anti-ship-missiles-could-be-real-killer-121551|title=Why Russia's Bastion-P Truck-Launched Anti-Ship Missiles Could Be a Real Killer|first=Sebastien|last=Roblin|date=8 February 2020|website=The National Interest}} Bal anti-ship missile system (130 to 300 km range);{{Cite web|url=https://news.yahoo.com/why-russia-bastion-p-truck-160000974.html|title=Why Russia's Bastion-P Truck-Launched Anti-Ship Missiles Could Be a Real Killer|accessdate=16 April 2023|archive-date=20 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020000508/https://news.yahoo.com/why-russia-bastion-p-truck-160000974.html|url-status=live}} targeting information provided by Monolit radar systems.{{cite web|url=https://tass.com/defense/1250195|title=Russian military tracking USS Porter after it sailed into Black Sea – ministry|access-date=28 January 2021|archive-date=28 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128213509/https://tass.com/defense/1250195|url-status=live}}
• 126th Guards Coastal Defence Brigade (Perevalny, Crimea) (equipped as mechanized infantry, including T-72B3 main battle tanks){{cite web|author=Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation|title = Танкисты армейского корпуса Черноморского флота выполнили стрельбы из вооружения танков Т-72Б3|url=https://structure.mil.ru/structure/forces/navy/news/more.htm?id=12370648}}
• 127th Reconnaissance Brigade{{cite web|title=Танковые подразделения армейского корпуса ЧФ провели учебные стрельбы на полигоне "Ангарский" – Юг и Северный Кавказ {{!}}{{!}} Интерфакс Россия|url=https://www.interfax-russia.ru/south-and-north-caucasus/main/tankovye-podrazdeleniya-armeyskogo-korpusa-chf-proveli-uchebnye-strelby-na-poligone-angarskiy|access-date=30 October 2020|website=www.interfax-russia.ru|date=25 January 2018|language=ru|archive-date=4 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220504194326/https://www.interfax-russia.ru/south-and-north-caucasus/main/tankovye-podrazdeleniya-armeyskogo-korpusa-chf-proveli-uchebnye-strelby-na-poligone-angarskiy|url-status=live}} (status/strength unclear as of January 2022)
• 8th Artillery Regiment (Simferopol, Crimea; self-propelled howitzers, multiple rocket launchers, anti-tank missile systems/guns)
• Surface-to-surface missile battalion (Iskander SSMs) to be added in 2022{{cite web|url=https://tass.com/defense/1387935|title=Army corps in Crimea to be complemented with rocket battalion – Commander|website=TASS|access-date=14 January 2022|archive-date=14 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220114211254/https://tass.com/defense/1387935|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.gfsis.org/russian-monitor/view/3116|title=Rondeli Russian Military Digest: Issue 117, 17 January – 23 January 2022|website=www.gfsis.org|access-date=25 January 2022|archive-date=25 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220125183120/https://www.gfsis.org/russian-monitor/view/3116|url-status=live}}
• 854th Coastal Missile Regiment (Sevastopol){{cite web|url=https://www.gfsis.org/russian-monitor/view/2713|title=Russian Military Transformation Tracker: Issue 1, August 2018-July 2019|website=www.gfsis.org|access-date=5 October 2020|archive-date=8 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008053015/https://www.gfsis.org/russian-monitor/view/2713|url-status=live}}
• 171st Air Assault Battalion (Novostepove Crimea; subordinate to the 97th Regiment of the 7th Guards Mountain Air Assault Division, HQ at Novorossiysk, Krasnodar){{cite web|url=https://tass.com/defense/1266301|title=Drills with 2,000 paratroopers begin in Crimea|access-date=16 March 2021|archive-date=16 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210316102024/https://tass.com/defense/1266301|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://tass.ru/armiya-i-opk/3870594|title=Первый батальон 97-го полка ВДВ России развернут в Крыму в 2017 году|newspaper=Tacc|access-date=31 March 2021|archive-date=26 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201126124343/https://tass.ru/armiya-i-opk/3870594|url-status=live}}
• 56th Guards Air Assault Regiment (reported to be formed from the planned re-deployment of the 56th Guards Air Assault Brigade from the Volgograd region to Feodosia in Crimea; regiment has integrated and further reinforced the strength of 7th Guards Air Assault Division since December 2021){{cite web|url=https://www.militarynews.ru/story.asp?rid=0&nid=560668&lang=RU|title=Россия к началу декабря усилит военную группировку в Крыму десантным полком -|access-date=18 November 2021|archive-date=18 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118193905/https://www.militarynews.ru/story.asp?rid=0&nid=560668&lang=RU|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url = https://iz.ru/1142141/2021-03-25/shoigu-soobshchil-o-sozdanii-novogo-polka-vdv-v-krymu|title = Шойгу сообщил о создании нового полка ВДВ в Крыму|date = 25 March 2021|access-date = 31 March 2021|archive-date = 30 March 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210330114832/https://iz.ru/1142141/2021-03-25/shoigu-soobshchil-o-sozdanii-novogo-polka-vdv-v-krymu|url-status = live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.armyrecognition.com/analysis_focus_army_defence_military_industry_army/russian_airborne_forces_create_airmobile_units_%E2%80%93_part_2.html|title=Russian Airborne Forces create airmobile units – Part 2 | analysis focus army defence military industry army|access-date=17 April 2021|archive-date=17 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417204543/https://www.armyrecognition.com/analysis_focus_army_defence_military_industry_army/russian_airborne_forces_create_airmobile_units_%E2%80%93_part_2.html|url-status=live}}
• 11th Coastal Missile-Artillery Brigade – Utash, Krasnodar region: 3–5 Bastion battalions and 1–2 Bal battalions.
• Surface-to-Surface Missiles (included deployed on Crimean peninsula):
• P-800 Oniks anti-ship missile system
• Redut
• Rubezh
• Bal
• Bastion-P including silo-based K-300S
• Object 100 Utes (near Sevastopol){{cite web|url=https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/navy-killers-russia-deploying-new-anti-ship-missiles-crimea-61537|title=Navy-Killers: Russia is Deploying New Anti-Ship Missiles in Crimea | The National Interest|date=8 June 2019|access-date=5 October 2020|archive-date=21 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021200321/https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/navy-killers-russia-deploying-new-anti-ship-missiles-crimea-61537|url-status=live}}
• Naval Infantry/Special Forces
• 810th Guards Naval Infantry Brigade{{Cite web |title=Russia's Military Posture: Ground Forces Order of Battle |url=https://www.criticalthreats.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Russian-Ground-Forces-OOB_ISW-CTP-1.pdf |access-date=23 September 2023 |website=www.criticalthreats.org |archive-date=15 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221015063619/https://www.criticalthreats.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Russian-Ground-Forces-OOB_ISW-CTP-1.pdf |url-status=live }}
• 382nd Naval Infantry Battalion? (Status unclear as of 2021){{citation needed|date=August 2023}}
• 388th Maritime Recon Point (Special Forces battalion)

The 2nd Guards Naval Aviation Division is part of the Black Sea Fleet.{{cite web|url=http://www.easternorbat.com/html/russian_air_force_eng.html|title=Russian Air Force – Today|website=www.easternorbat.com|access-date=5 October 2020|archive-date=8 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008202146/http://www.easternorbat.com/html/russian_air_force_eng.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://navalnews.net/russia-to-establish-two-new-air-combat-centres-at-kaliningrad-and-crimea/|title=Russia to establish two new air combat centres at Kaliningrad and Crimea|first=Dorian|last=Archus|date=2 November 2019|access-date=6 October 2020|archive-date=23 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123204251/https://navalnews.net/russia-to-establish-two-new-air-combat-centres-at-kaliningrad-and-crimea/|url-status=dead}} The 27th Composite [or "Mixed", depending on translation] Aviation Division is part of the 4th Air and Air Defence Forces Army.

2nd Guards Naval Aviation Division (HQ Sevastopol)

{{Main|Russian Naval Aviation}}

• 43rd Independent Naval Shturmovik [Assault Aviation] Regiment{{Cite web |title=Security Review |url=https://www.gfsis.org/files/library/pdf/Russian-Strategy-2941.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210503120220/https://www.gfsis.org/files/library/pdf/Russian-Strategy-2941.pdf |archive-date=3 May 2021 |access-date=23 September 2023 |website=www.gfsis.org}} – HQ at Gvardeyskoye, Crimea – 18x Su-24M; 4x Su-24MR (being replaced by Sukhoi Su-30SMs as of 2019;{{cite web | title=Russian Navy Naval Aviation Continues to Receive New Su-30SM Multirole Fighters | website=Navy Recognition | date=21 July 2016 | url=https://www.navyrecognition.com/index.php/newsb/defence-news/2016/july-2016-navy-naval-forces-defense-industry-technology-maritime-security-global-news/4226-russian-navy-naval-aviation-continues-to-receive-new-su-30sm-multirole-fighters.html | access-date=24 November 2020}} Su-30SMs reported active with the regiment as of 2021{{cite web|url=https://tass.com/defense/1276793|title = Russian Navy warships eliminate enemy aircraft over Black Sea in drills}})
• 318th Mixed Aviation Regiment (Kacha): reportedly An-26, Be-12, and Ka-27 ASW and Ka-29 assault/transport helicopters (as of 2019 – Regiment may supersede/replace former 25th and 917th Aviation Regiments?)

27th Composite Aviation Division (in Crimea but subordinate to 4th Air and Air Defence Forces Army – Rostov-on-Don)

• 37th Composite Aviation Regiment (Simferopol) (Two Squadrons: Su-24 and Su-25)
• 38th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment (Sevastopol) (Two Squadrons: Su-27/Su-30SM the latter with Oniks (Yakhont) supersonic anti-ship missiles){{cite web|url=https://www.airforce-technology.com/projects/su-30sm-multirole-fighter-aircraft/|title=Su-30SM Multirole Fighter Aircraft, Russian Federation|website=www.airforce-technology.com}} (may partly re-equip with Su-57?){{cite web|url=https://tass.com/defense/1239789|title = First batch-produced Su-57 delivered to regiment in Southern Military District – source}}
• 39th Helicopter Regiment (Dzhankoi) has been equipped with Mi-35M attack helicopters, Ka-52, Mi-28N, and Mi-8AMTSh helicopters (as of 2016).{{cite web|url=https://old.defence-ua.com/index.php/en/publications/defense-express-publications/914-militarization-of-occupied-crimea-a-threat-to-global-security|title=MILITARIZATION OF OCCUPIED CRIMEA – A THREAT TO GLOBAL SECURITY|website=old.defence-ua.com}}

31st Air Defense Division (HQ: Sevastopol) subordinate to the 4th Air and Air Defense Forces Army (HQ: Rostov-on-Don){{cite web|url=https://warontherocks.com/2019/01/the-naval-power-shift-in-the-black-sea/|title = The Naval Power Shift in the Black Sea|date = 9 January 2019}}

• 12th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment
• 18th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment
• Five battalions with S-400 SAM systems (250–400 km range)
• S-300 long-range surface-to-air missiles with Nebo-M radars.
• Four battalions: Pantsir-S medium-range SAM
• Buk SAM system

51st Air Defense Division (HQ: Rostov-on-Don; with S-400, S-300, Pantsir, Buk SAM systems subordinate to 4th Air Army)

• 1537th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment (Novorossiysk, Krasnodar)
• 1721st Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment (Sochi; may have started re-equipping with S-350 surface-to-air missile systems in May 2021).{{cite web|url=https://www.gfsis.org/russian-monitor/view/2996|title = Russian Military Transformation Tracker, Issue 3: December 2020-June 2021}}
• 1536th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment (Rostov-on-Don)

7th Military Base (Primorskoe, Abkhazia – S-400 and S-300 SAMs)

The 43rd Guards Naval Assault Aviation Regiment traces its history to the 43rd Fighter Aviation Regiment (:ru:43-й истребительный авиационный полк). The regiment began its formation in May 1938 and was finally formed on 11 or 13 May 1938 in the Kiev Special Military District at Vasylkiv airfield from the 71st, 5th and 109th separate fighter aviation squadrons.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ww2.dk/new/air%20force/regiment/shap/43apib.htm|title=43rd Fighter-Bomber Aviation Regiment}} It joined the 51st Aviation Brigade of the Air Forces of the Kiev Special Military District.

The regiment's first commander from summer 1938 was Vladimir Sryvkin (:ru:Срывкин, Владимир Алексеевич).Коллектив авторов. Великая Отечественная: Комдивы. Военный биографический словарь / В. П. Горемыкин. — М.: Кучково поле, 2014. — Т. 2. — С. 828. — 1000 экз. — ISBN 978-5-9950-0341-0. Major Sryvkin handed over command in 1939 and became assistant commander of the 72nd Fighter Aviation Brigade. In May 1944, he died of wounds received in action.

On 22 June 1941, the regiment was still located at Vasylkiv, forming part of the 36th Fighter Aviation Division of the Air Defence Forces of the Kiev Special Military District.{{Cite web |title=Состав и дислокация авиационных корпусов, дивизий и бригад ВВС Красной Армии на 22 июня 1941 г. |url=https://www.soldat.ru/force/sssr/t/table8.html |access-date=16 December 2022 |website=www.soldat.ru}}, based upon Калашников К.А., Феськов В.И., Чмыхало А.Ю., Голиков В.И. "Красная Армия в июне 1941 года (статистический сборник)". - Томск: Изд-во Том. ун-та, 2001. - 200 с.

Over the entire period of its existence, the regiment was repeatedly reorganized and changed its name depending on the honorary titles assigned, awards and changes in the type of aviation:

The 43rd Fighter Aviation Regiment on 9 June 1942 was reorganized into the 43rd Mixed Aviation Regiment. The 43rd Mixed Aviation Regiment was reorganized on 21 June 1942 into the 43rd Fighter Aviation Regiment.[3]

The 43rd Fighter Aviation Sevastopol Red Banner Order of Kutuzov Regiment on 1 April 1960 was renamed the 43rd Aviation Sevastopol Red Banner Order of Kutuzov Regiment of Fighter-Bombers (APIB).

The 43rd Aviation Sevastopol Red Banner Order of Kutuzov Regiment of Fighter-Bombers, after being included in the Air Force of the Red Banner Black Sea Fleet on 1 December 1990, was renamed the 43rd Separate Naval Assault Aviation Sevastopol Red Banner Order of Kutuzov Regiment.

In connection with the reduction of the Russian Air Force, the 43rd Separate Marine Assault Aviation Sevastopol Red Banner Order of Kutuzov Regiment was reorganized on 1 October 1995 into the 43rd Separate Marine Assault Aviation Sevastopol Red Banner Order of Kutuzov Squadron.

In December 2004, the squadron was upgraded to a regiment once again. The 43rd separate naval assault aviation Sevastopol Red Banner Order of Kutuzov Regiment in connection with the ongoing reform of the RF Armed Forces in 2009 was renamed the 7058th Aviation Sevastopol Red Banner Order of Kutuzov Naval Aviation Base of the Russian Federation.

The 43rd separate naval assault aviation Sevastopol Red Banner Order of Kutuzov Naval Aviation Regiment of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation was re-formed in 2014 at the Novofedorovka airfield near the city of Saki.

The regiment was part of the "active army" (in front-line combat service) for six periods between 22 July 1941 and 9 May 1945.Collective Authors. Percheni № 12 Aviation Regiments Военно-воздушных сил Красной армии, входивших в состав Действующей армии в годы Великой Отечественной войны 1941—1945 гг. / Покровский. — Министерство обороны СССР. Военно-научное управление Генерального Штаба. — Москва: Воениздат, 1960. — Т. Приложение к директиве Генерального штаба от 18 января 1960 г. № 170023. — 96 pages.

The Russian Black Sea Fleet's (BSF) use of leased facilities in Sevastopol and the Crimea was sometimes controversial. A number of incidents took place:

• For security reasons, the BSF refused to allow Ukrainians to inspect its aircraft cargo, after allegations by Ukrainians that they could be carrying nuclear weapons, which would have infringed upon Ukraine's status under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)
• The BSF transported rockets repeatedly through the port of Sevastopol without seeking permission from Ukrainian authorities.
• A lighthouse is located on the headland which, starting in 2005, was the subject of a controversy between Ukraine and Russia. From 3 August 2005, the lighthouse was occupied by the Russian military.{{cite web|url=http://cpcfpu.org.ua/projects/foreignpolicy/headlines/security/internal/2302/ |title=The owner of the "sarych" lighthouse came back with a blank document to the President of Ukraine |access-date=24 February 2007 |work=CPCFPU |language=Ukrainian |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311011114/http://cpcfpu.org.ua/projects/foreignpolicy/headlines/security/internal/2302/ |archive-date=11 March 2007 }} Despite a controversial ruling by a Court in Sevastopol on the subject, Russian military officials referred to the fact that they only took orders from the chief of the Russian Navy headquarters and no one else. Ukrainian activists complained that Sarych was illegally occupied by the Russian Navy.{{cite web|url=http://www.zakrytazona.tv/ua/programs/pershiy-viddil/teksti/service/ukrayintsyam-vhid-zaboroneno/ |title=Access to Ukrainians is prohibited. |access-date=24 February 2007 |work=Zakryta Zona |language=Ukrainian |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070310131212/http://www.zakrytazona.tv/ua/programs/pershiy-viddil/teksti/service/ukrayintsyam-vhid-zaboroneno/ |archive-date=10 March 2007 |url-status=dead }} As a military facility, the territory around the Sarych headland is closed to trespassers with barbed wire, and the Russian flag flew over Sarych.{{cite web|url=http://www.korespondent.net/main/47225 |title="Sarych" was surrounded with a barbed wire and had a Russian flag flying above it |date=10 February 2006 |work=Korrespondent |language=Ukrainian |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071018081503/http://www.korespondent.net/main/47225 |archive-date=18 October 2007 }}
• 20 June 2009 – In Sevastopol, a Russian fleet servicemen allegedly used physical force against 30 civilians. The city also alleges contract violations by the Construction Management Corporation of the Black Sea Fleet for not following through on promises to construct requested commercial housing after taking advance payment. The city began talks with the President and the Prime-Minister of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin, and also to the Russian Minister of Defense Anatoliy Serdyukov with respect to the contract violations, but those did not yield results.{{cite web|url=http://www.unian.net/ukr/news/news-322085.html|title=Військовослужбовці ЧФ РФ побилися з жертвами будівельної афери|access-date=10 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090624073051/http://www.unian.net/ukr/news/news-322085.html|archive-date=24 June 2009|url-status=live}}
• On 27 August 2009, Russian marines successfully prevented Ukrainian bailiffs from enforcing a Ukrainian court ruling on seizing lighthouses belonging to the BSF. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry described the Russian obstruction as a "disregard for Ukrainian legislation and international agreements".
• On 16 April 2013, a "high-ranking Russian Defense Ministry official" complained to Interfax that "Ukraine's stubborn position" was slowing the cancellation of customs payments (for the fleet) and that Ukraine still upheld (former) Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko's 2008 decrees that banned the "relaxed procedure" of BSF formations crossing the Ukrainian border.[http://www.interfax.co.uk/ukraine-news/kyiv-obstructs-black-sea-fleets-modernization-says-russian-military-official/ Kyiv obstructs Black Sea Fleet's modernization, says Russian military official], Interfax-Ukraine (16 April 2013)
• In the late hours of 13 April 2022 Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych reported Moskva was on fire and Odesa governor Maksym Marchenko said their forces hit Moskva with two R-360 Neptune anti-ship missiles.{{Cite news |title=Russian warship Moskva on fire but afloat, Pentagon says |date=14 April 2022 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/14/russia-moskva-ship-ukraine-black-sea |newspaper=The Guardian}}
• On 22 September 2023, Ukraine hit the headquarters of the BSF using a Storm Shadow missile, killing at least 6 people.{{Cite web |last=Sackur |first=Leila |date=23 September 2023 |title=Senior leadership among those killed in strike on Russia's Black Sea Fleet, Ukraine says |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/russia-ukraine-war-black-sea-fleet-leadership-killed-sevastopol-rcna116988 |access-date=23 September 2023 |website=www.nbcnews.com |language=en}}
• on 1 February 2024, Ukraine released video purported to show the sinking of the Tarantul-class vessel Ivanovets by unmanned surface vehicle.{{cite news |date=2 February 2024 |title=Ukraine 'hits Russian missile boat Ivanovets in Black Sea'|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68165523|publisher=BBC |author=Robert Greenall}}{{cite news |date=1 February 2024 |title=Watch: Ukraine sinks Russian warship in Black Sea drone strike|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/02/01/ukraine-sinks-russian-warship-black-sea-drone-strike/|publisher=The Telegraph |author=Tim Sigsworth }}
• On 5 March 2024, the Sergey Kotov patrol vessel was sunk using Magura V5 naval drone.{{Cite web |title=Ukraine war briefing: another Russian warship sunk in Black Sea, says Ukrainian intelligence {{!}} Ukraine {{!}} The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/05/ukraine-russia-war-briefing-taurus-missiles-germany |access-date=5 March 2024 |website=amp.theguardian.com}}
• On 23 March 2024, The defense forces of Ukraine hit the Russian large amphibious Ropucha-class landing ships Yamal. According to Ukraine's military intelligence, the Yamal warship suffered critical damage: a hole in the upper deck caused it to roll to the starboard side.{{Cite web |title=russia's 'yamal' Large-Sized Landing Warship Was Destroyed – Details of Damage |url=https://gur.gov.ua/en/content/urazheno-velykyi-desantnyi-korabel-rosii-iamal-detali-poshkodzhen.html |access-date=2024-03-25 |website=gur.gov.ua}}
• On 19 May 2024, Ukrainian forces destroyed the Project 22800 Karakurt class Tsiklon missile corvette in the port of Sevastopol with ATACMS missiles.{{Cite web |last=Krasteva |first=Gergana |date=2024-05-21 |title=Putin's newest war toy has already been hit and destroyed by a missile |url=https://metro.co.uk/2024/05/21/putins-brand-new-26-000-000-missile-ship-tsyklon-struck-20883218/ |access-date=2024-05-31 |website=Metro |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Zoria |first=Yuri |date=2024-05-21 |title=Ukraine destroys Tsyklon, Russia's last surface Kalibr missile ship in occupied Crimea |url=https://euromaidanpress.com/2024/05/21/ukraine-destroys-tsyklon-russias-last-surface-kalibr-missile-ship-in-occupied-crimea/ |access-date=2024-05-31 |website=Euromaidan Press |language=en-US}}
• In 12 November 2024, Valery Trankovsky, Captain of the 1st Rank and chief of staff of a missile boat brigade, was killed in a car bomb explosion in Crimea. The Russian government has opened a terrorism investigation.[https://www.newsweek.com/top-russian-navy-commander-killed-car-bomb-attack-crimea-1984864 Top Russian Navy Commander Killed in Car Bomb Attack in Crimea], Newsweek, 13 November 2024.[https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ukraine-russian-naval-commander-assassination-car-bomb-crimea/ Ukraine says it blew up a Russian naval commander with a car bomb in occupied Crimea], CBS News, 13 November 2024.

• Azov-Black Sea Flotilla
• Black Sea Fleet electoral district (Russian Constituent Assembly election, 1917)
• List of ship losses during the Russo-Ukrainian War

{{reflist}}

• {{cite journal|last=Simonsen|first=Sven Gunnar|date=June 2000|title='You take your oath only once:' Crimea, The Black Sea Fleet, and national identity among Russian officers|journal=Nationalities Papers|volume=28|issue=2|pages=289–316|doi= 10.1080/713687467|s2cid=128609425 | issn = 0090-5992}}

{{Commons category}}

• [http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200601/16/eng20060116_235653.html Russia – Ukraine Lease agreement]
• [http://www.kchf.ru/eng/ Unofficial site]
• [http://road-crimea.narod.ru/2003/fleet.htm History of the Black Sea Fleet during WWII] {{in lang|ru}}
• [http://observer.sd.org.ua/news.php?id=3962 Narodny Oglyadach reports on morale situation in Russian naval base in Sevastopol]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20081009105931/http://www.uarmy.com.ua/ALMANAH/ALMANAH03/article12/art12.html КОРАБЛІ УКРАЇНСЬКОЇ ФЛОТИ (1917–1918 рр.) – Ukrainian Navy (1917–1918)] {{in lang|uk}}
• [http://rusnavy.com/history/interesting/ukranianfleet.htm?print=Y Ukrainian Navy: ferial excursions into the past and present]
• [http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/ua~1918.html Ukraine – Historical Naval Flags (1918)]

{{Black Sea Naval Co-operation Task Group (BLACKSEAFOR)}}

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{{Authority control}}

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