Black Sea Fleet

Russian Black Sea Fleet
Черноморский флот
Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet
Active	13 May 1783 – present
Allegiance	Russian Empire (1783–1917) Soviet Russia (1918–1922) Soviet Union (1922–1991) Commonwealth of Independent States (1991–1992) Russian Federation (1992–present)
Branch	Russian Navy
Role	Naval warfare; Amphibious military operations; Combat patrols in the Black Sea and occupied Sea of Azov
Size	25,000 personnel (including marines) (in 2014) c. approx 50 surface warships (frigates, corvettes, missile boats, minesweepers) plus landing ships, oilers, tugs, survey, intelligence and auxiliary vessels 6 submarines (2 of which are in the Mediterranean)
Part of	Russian Armed Forces
Garrison/HQ	Sevastopol (HQ), Feodosia (Crimea) Novorossiysk HQ, Tuapse, Temryuk (Krasnodar Krai) Taganrog (Rostov Oblast)
Anniversaries	13 May
Engagements	Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792) Battle of Tendra Crimean War Battle of Sinop World War I Battle of Cape Sarych Russian Civil War World War II Crimean offensive Russo-Georgian War Russo-Ukrainian War Russian invasion of Ukraine Syrian civil war
Commanders
Current commander	Vice Adm. Sergei Pinchuk
Notable commanders	Grigory Potemkin Adm. Fyodor Ushakov Adm. Alexander Menshikov Adm. Pavel Nakhimov Adm. Yevgeni Alekseyev Adm. Andrey Ehbergard Adm. Alexander Kolchak Adm. Ivan Yumashev Adm. Filipp Oktyabrskiy Adm. Lev Vladimirsky Fleet Adm. Sergey Gorshkov Fleet Adm. Vladimir Kasatonov Adm. Vladimir Masorin

The Black Sea Fleet (Russian: Черноморский флот, romanized: Chernomorskiy flot) is the fleet of the Russian Navy in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Mediterranean Sea. The Black Sea Fleet, along with other Russian ground and air forces on the Crimean Peninsula, are subordinate to the Southern Military District of the Russian Armed Forces. The fleet traces its history to its founding by Prince Potemkin on 13 May 1783 as part of the Imperial Russian Navy. The Russian SFSR inherited the fleet in 1918; with the founding of the Soviet Union in 1922, it became part of the Soviet Navy. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Black Sea Fleet was partitioned between the Russian Federation and Ukraine in 1997, with Russia receiving title to 82% of the vessels.

The Black Sea Fleet has its official primary headquarters and facilities at the Sevastopol Naval Base, Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014. The rest of the fleet's facilities are based in locations on the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, including Krasnodar Krai, Rostov Oblast and Crimea.

The ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War led to major operations and losses due to Ukrainian missiles and umanned surface vehicles including the flagship Moskva and several landing vessels. Additionally, there was a 2023 Ukrainian missile strike against the Black Sea Fleet HQ in Sevastopol itself; After another attack on 24 March 2024, a Ukraine spokesperson said that they have disabled or damaged one third of the fleet during the war. In June, Ukraine said was now highly likely that they had destroyed all of the Black Sea Fleet's missile carrier capability based in Crimea. On 2 August, another missile attack sank a Russian submarine that was under repair.

History

The Black Sea

Imperial Russian Navy

Main article: Imperial Russian Navy

Ivan Aivazovsky. Black Sea Fleet in the Bay of Theodosia, Crimea, just before the Crimean War

The Russian Black Sea Fleet after the Battle of Sinope, 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) 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.

Crimean War

Main article: Crimean War

Within the Black Sea itself, the Turks found themselves at a naval disadvantage in relation to the Russian Black Sea Fleet. 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.

1877 conflict with Turkey

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.

1905 revolution

The Black Sea Fleet would play an instrumental political role in the 1905 Russian Revolution with the crew of the battleship Potemkin 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.

World War I and Russian Civil War

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, but after the two modern Russian dreadnoughts Imperatritsa Mariya and Imperatritsa Ekaterina Velikaya 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, 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.

The Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol, c. 1916

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.

Soviet Navy

Main article: 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 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.

World War II

Main articles: Soviet Navy surface raids on Western Black Sea, Black Sea Campaigns (1941–44), Soviet Black Sea Fleet during the Battle of Stalingrad, and 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.

Soviet hospital ship Armenia 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.

Cold War

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. 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.

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.

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.

Monument to Heroes of the Soviet 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:

• 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
    • 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. 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 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.

After the fall of the Soviet Union

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.

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. 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.

Joint Fleet and its partition

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, 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.

Some major ships of the Soviet and Russian Black Sea Fleet (including the flagship Moskva, 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. Ukraine agreed to lease major parts of its facilities to the Russian Black Sea Fleet until 2017. 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.

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.

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. It appeared to violate the constitutional ban on basing foreign military forces, and would eventually lead to high treason charges.

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"

Vladimir Putin with Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma 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. 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". 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.

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. In May 2011, Russia and Ukraine resumed their joint "Peace Fairway" (Farvater Mira) naval exercises.

Georgia in the Fleet partition

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.

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. 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).

Russo-Ukrainian War

Russian annexation of Crimea

Main articles: Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation and Russo-Ukrainian War

The 2014 political crisis in Ukraine rapidly engulfed Crimea where pro-Russian separatist sentiment was strong. 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. Nevertheless, at minimum the Black Sea Fleet played a supporting role including with respect to preventing the departure of Ukrainian naval vessels from Crimea. Other sources suggested that the 810th Naval Infantry Brigade of the Fleet was also involved.

After the annexation of Crimea, the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the Ukrainian Navy were evicted from their bases and subsequently withdrew from the peninsula. During the occupation, Russian forces seized 54 out of 67 ships of the Ukrainian Navy. According to sources from Black Sea Fleet Headquarters, inspections of all ships were to be done by the end of 2014. On 8 April 2014 an agreement was reached between Russia and Ukraine to return Ukrainian Navy materials to Ukraine proper. 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. According to the fleet commander Aleksandr Vitko, this happened because the vessels were old "and, if used [by Ukraine], could hurt its own people".

Crimea was then formally annexed into Russia through a referendum, but this was declared invalid by United Nations General Assembly Resolution 68/262.

Strengthening the fleet

Exercises of the air defense system regiment of the army corps of the Black Sea Fleet

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".

Prior to the annexation of Crimea, 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. These vessels were to partially replace the reported decommissioning of Kerch, Ochakov (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.

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 Admiral Grigorovich-class frigates and at least three new classes of missile corvettes (the Steregushchiy, Karakurt and Buyan-M classes). The deployment of the Admiral Gorshkov-class frigate with the Black Sea Fleet was still anticipated, though in reduced numbers. 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. 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.

The projection of power into the Mediterranean also returned 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. The deployment of submarines from the Black Sea Fleet to the Mediterranean has become 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). 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. If confirmed such a deployment would significantly enhance the fleet's power projection capabilities.

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".

As of 2020, ongoing technological upgrades of this already robust SAM network were planned during the 2020s. 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.

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. 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.

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.

Russo-Ukrainian naval standoff

On 29 January 2021, three US naval vessels entered the Black Sea for the first time in three years. On 1 February, the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky argued for NATO membership for Ukraine. 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. 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.

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. 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. The same day, the US decided to send two warships to the Black Sea.

On 9 April 2021, tensions rose further and Ukraine promised not to attack the separatists, while Russia considered intervening. On the same day, two Black Sea Fleet corvettes, Vishny Volochyok and Gravoron, conducted an exercise. 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. On 14 April, the deployment of the two US destroyers was cancelled. 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. On 30 April, the cruiser Moskva fired a Vulkan anti-ship missile for the first time.

In November, further tensions started amidst the build-up of Russian ground forces on the Ukraine border. On 2 November, the destroyer USS Porter entered the Black Sea, followed on 25 November by the destroyer USS Arleigh Burke. In late October, the Russian Black Sea fleet held a large exercise with a cruiser, a frigate and three corvettes.

Incident with HMS Defender

Main article: 2021 Black Sea incident

On 23 June 2021, the United Kingdom's HMS Defender undertook a freedom of navigation patrol through the disputed waters around the Crimean Peninsula. 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. 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.

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

Further information: Russian invasion of Ukraine and 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. 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. 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.

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. However, the report of a landing at Odesa on 24 February subsequently proved to be false. 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. 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.

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.

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, and the patrol vessel Sloviansk, reported sunk by Russian action on 3 March 2022. 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. However, the ship was subsequently reported as having entered Sevastopol on 16 March 2022 with no obvious damage.

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.

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.

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.

On 24 March 2022, the Ukrainian military hit and destroyed the Russian Tapir-class landing ship Saratov at the Port of Berdiansk. In July 2022 it became known that Saratov had been salvaged and would be towed to Kerch, Crimea. 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.

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.

Also in March 2022, the Russian Navy bombed several civilian ships, including a cargo ship belonging to Bangladesh.

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. The Russian government claimed the damage was a result of an ammunition explosion. According to the Russian government, everyone on the ship was evacuated. On 14 April, the Russian Ministry of Defence confirmed the ship had sunk. 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. 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".

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.

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.

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. The wreck was later recovered.

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. Russia denied the claims. Three days later, a US-backed media outlet carried photographs of the ship unharmed moored at Sevastopol. The ship was also seen with the Pantsir-S mobile surface-to-air missile system on board while docked in Sevastopol.

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. Lviv region's Governor Maxim Kozitsky acknowledged that the target was "completely destroyed".

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. 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.

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.

On 31 July 2022, a drone strike at the fleet headquarters in Sevastopol wounded several people and forced the cancellation of Navy Day commemorations.

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." 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.

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.

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.

Yury Ivanov-class intelligence ship Ivan Khurs was possibly damaged by one of three Ukrainian sea drones on 24 May 2023.

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.

On 13 September 2023, Storm Shadows were used in a strike against the Sevastopol port, seriously damaging the Rostov na Donu submarine and seriously damaging (according to some sources, beyond repair) the Ropucha-class landing ship Minsk.

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. On 6 November 2023 president Zelensky stated that the ship was destroyed.

On 25 December 2023, the large landing ship Novocherkassk was struck by Ukrainian aircraft carrying guided missiles in Port of Feodosiya.

Late December 2023, Ukraine hit and destroyed a Russian project 205P "Tarantul" (NATO designation: Stenka) guard ship in the port of Sevastopol.

On 1 February 2024, Ukraine released video claiming to show the sinking of the R-334 Ivanovets using USVs.

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.

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.

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

Commanders

#	Rank	Name	Year
1	VADM	Aleksey Fedotovich Klokachev	1783
2	VADM	Yakov Filippovich Sukhotin	1784 – 1785
3	RADM	Nikolay Semenovich Mordvinov	1785 – 1789
4	RADM	Marko Ivanovich Voynovich	1789 – 1790
5	RADM	Fyodor Fyodorovich Ushakov	1790 – 1792
#	ADM	Nikolay Semenovich Mordvinov	1792 – 1799
6	ADM	Vilim Petrovich Fondezin	1799 – 1802
7	ADM	Aleksandr Ivanovich de Travers	1802 – 1811
8	ADM	Roman Romanovich Gall	1811
9	VADM	Nikolay Lvovich Yazykov	1811 – 1816
10	ADM	Aleksey Samuilovich Greig	1816 – 1833
11	ADM	Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev	1834 – 1851
12	ADM	Morits Borisovich Berg	1851 – 1855
13	VADM	Nikolay Fedorovich Metlin	Sep 1855 – Dec 1855
14	VADM	Aleksandr Ivanovich Panfilov	Jan 1856 – Aug 1856
15	RADM	Grigoriy Ivanovich Butakov	Aug 1856 – Jan 1860
16	VADM	Bogdan Alexandrovich Glazenap	1860 – Jan 1871
17	ADM	Nikolay Andreyevich Arkas	1871 – 1881
18	ADM	Mikhail Pavlovich Manganari	1881 – 1882
19	VADM	Aleksey Alekseyevich Peshchurov (1834-1891)	1882 – 1890
20	RADM	Roman Andreevich Grenkvist	1890
21	VADM	Nikolay Vasilyevich Kopytov	1891 – 1898
22	VADM	Yevgeni Ivanovich Alekseyev	1898
23	VADM	Sergey Petrovich Tyrtov	May 1898 – 1903
24	VADM	Yakov Appolonovich Giltebrandt	1903
25	VADM	Nikolay Illarionovich Skrydlov	1903 – 1904
26	VADM	Aleksandr Khristianovich Kriger	1904
27	VADM	Grigoriy Pavlovich Chukhnin	1904 – 1906
28	RADM	Ivan Konstantinovich Grigorovich	1906
29	VADM	Nikolay Illarionovich Skrydlov	1906 – 1907
30	RADM	Genrikh Faddeevich Tsyvinskiy	1907
31	RADM	Robert Nikolayevich Viren	1907 – 1908
32	VADM	Ivan Fyodorovich Bostrem	1908 – 1909
33	VADM	Vladimir Simonovich Sarnavskiy	1909 – 1911
34	VADM	Ivan Fyodorovich Bostrem	1911
35	RADM	Pavel Ivanovich Novitskiy	1911
36	VADM	Andrey Avgustovich Ehbergard	1911 – Jun 1916
37	VADM	Aleksandr Vasilyevich Kolchak	Jun 1916 – Jun 1917
38 (Acting)	RADM	Veniamin Konstantinovich Lukin	Jun 1917 – Jul 1917
39	RADM	Aleksandr Vasilyevich Nemitts	Jul 1917 – Dec 1917
40	RADM	Mikhail Sablin	1918
41	Captain 1st Rank	Aleksandr Ivanovich Tikhmenev	1918
42	Captain 1st Rank	Aleksandr Ivanovich Sheykovskiy	1919
43	Captain 1st Rank	Aleksey Vladimirovich Dombrovskiy	May 1920 – Oct 1920
44		Ehduard Samuilovich Pantserzhanskiy	Nov 1920 – Nov 1921
45		Andrey Semenovich Maksimov	Nov 1921 – Jul 1922
46		Aleksandr Karlovich Vekman	Jul 1922 – May 1924
47		Mikhail Vladimirovich Viktorov	May 1924 – Dec 1924
48		Ehduard Samuilovich Pantserzhanskiy	Dec 1924 – Oct 1926
49		Vladimir Mitrofanovich Orlov	Oct 1926 – Jun 1931
50	Fleet Flag Officer 2nd Rank	Ivan Kuz'mich Kozhanov	Jun 1931 – Aug 1937
51	Fleet Flag Officer 2nd Rank	Petr Ivanovich Smirnov-Svetlovskiy	Aug 1937 – Dec 1937
52	Fleet Flag Officer 2nd Rank	Ivan Stepanovich Yumashev	1938 – Mar 1939
53	VADM	Filipp Sergeyevich Oktyabrskiy	Mar 1939 – Apr 1943
54	VADM	Lev Anatol'evich Vladimirskiy	Apr 1943 – Mar 1944
55	VADM	Filipp Sergeyevich Oktyabrskiy	Mar 1944 – Nov 1948
56	ADM	Nikolai Efremovich Basistiy	Nov 1948 – Aug 1951
57	ADM	Sergey Georgiyevich Gorshkov	Aug 1951 – Jul 1955
58	VADM	Viktor Aleksandrovich Parkhomenko	Jul 1955 – Dec 1955
59	ADM	Vladimir Afanasyevich Kasatonov	Dec 1955 – Feb 1962
60	ADM	Serafim Evgeniyevich Chursin	Feb 1962 – Dec 1968
61	ADM	Viktor Sergeyevich Sysoyev	Dec 1968 – Mar 1974
62	ADM	Nikolay Ivanovich Khovrin	Mar 1974 – April 1983
63	ADM	Aleksey Mikhailovich Kalinin	Apr 1983 – Jul 1985
64	ADM	Mikhail Nikolayevich Khronopulo	Jul 1985 – Oct 1991
65	ADM	Igor Vladimirovich Kasatonov	Oct 1991 – Dec 1992
66	ADM	Eduard Dmitriyevich Baltin	Dec 1992 – Feb 1996
67	ADM	Viktor Andreyevich Kravchenko	Feb 1996 – Jul 1998
68	ADM	Vladimir Petrovich Komoyedov	Jul 1998 – Oct 2002
69	ADM	Vladimir Vasilyevich Masorin	Oct 2002 – Feb 2005
70	ADM	Aleksandr Arkadyevich Tatarinov	Feb 2005 – Jul 2007
71	VADM	Aleksandr Dmitrievich Kletskov	Jul 2007 – Jul 2010
72	VADM	Vladimir Ivanovich Korolyov	Jul 2010 – Jun 2011
73	VADM	Aleksandr Nikolayevich Fedotenkov	Jun 2011 – May 2013
74	ADM	Aleksandr Viktorovich Vitko	May 2013 – June 2018
75	VADM	Aleksandr Alekseevich Moiseev	June 2018 – May 2019
76	ADM	Igor Vladimirovich Osipov	May 2019 – August 2022
77	ADM	Viktor Nikolayevich Sokolov	August 2022 –February 2024
78	VADM	Sergei Mikhailovich Pinchuk	February 2024–

Order of battle

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. 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.

30th Surface Ship Division

#	Type	Class	Name	Year	Notes
861	Guided Missile Frigate	Krivak	Ladnyy	1980	Active
868	Guided Missile Frigate	Krivak	Pytlivyy	1981	Active
494	Guided Missile Frigate	Admiral Grigorovich	Admiral Grigorovich	2016	Undergoing repairs in Kaliningrad.
490	Guided Missile Frigate	Admiral Grigorovich	Admiral Essen	2016	Active
499	Guided Missile Frigate	Admiral Grigorovich	Admiral Makarov	2017	Active
734	Multi-role Corvette	Steregushchiy	Mercury	2023	Active, but unable to reach Black Sea due to Turkey's blockade of the Bosphorus Strait

4th Independent Submarine Brigade

#	Type	Name	Class	Year	Base	Notes
554	Diesel Attack Submarine	B-871 Alrosa	Kilo 877V	1990	Sevastopol	Active
555	Diesel Attack Submarine	B-261 Novorossiysk	Improved Kilo 636.3	2014	Novorossiysk	In refit; at the Kronstadt Shipyard in the Baltic
556	Diesel Attack Submarine	B-237 Rostov-na-Donu	Improved Kilo 636.3	2014	Novorossiysk	Heavily damaged by a Ukrainian cruise missile strike while dry docked at Sevastopol on 12 September 2023
557	Diesel Attack Submarine	B-262 Staryy Oskol	Improved Kilo 636.3	2015	Novorossiysk	Active
558	Diesel Attack Submarine	B-265 Krasnodar	Improved Kilo 636.3	2015	Novorossiysk	Active; deployed in the Mediterranean
559	Diesel Attack Submarine	B-268 Velikiy Novgorod	Improved Kilo 636.3	2016	Novorossiysk	Active
560	Diesel Attack Submarine	B-271 Kolpino	Improved Kilo 636.3	2016	Novorossiysk	Active

41st Missile Boat Brigade

166th Novorossiysk Small Missile Boat Division

#	Type	Name	Class	Year	Notes
615	Guided Missile Corvette	Bora	Dergach	1989	In refit as of September 2021
616	Guided Missile Corvette	Samum	Dergach	2000	Damaged by Ukrainian naval drone on 12 September 2023, and not expected to return to service before 2024.
609	Guided Missile Corvette	Vyshniy Volochyok	Buyan-M	2018	Active
626	Guided Missile Corvette	Orekhovo-Zuyevo	Buyan-M	2018	Active; deployed in the Mediterranean
630	Guided Missile Corvette	Ingushetiya	Buyan-M	2019	Active
600	Guided Missile Corvette	Grayvoron	Buyan-M	2021	Active
633	Missile Corvette	Tsiklon	Karakurt	2023	Claimed destroyed by Ukrainian officials.
TBC	Missile Corvette	Askold	Karakurt	2023	Damaged by a Ukrainian cruise missile strike on the port Kerch on 4 November 2023 Ukraine claimed the destruction of the ship.
TBC	Missile Corvette	Amur	Karakurt	2023	Deployed to the Black Sea via inland waterways; reported at Novorossiysk
TBC	Missile Corvette	Tucha	Karakurt	2023	Deployed to the Black Sea via inland waterways; reported at Novorossiysk

295th Sulinsk Missile Boat Division

#	Type	Name	Class	Year	Notes
962	Missile Boat	R-71 Shuya	Tarantul-II Mod	1985
955	Missile Boat	R-60 Burya	Tarantul-III	1987	Active as of 2022
952	Missile Boat	R-109 Breeze	Tarantul-III	1990
953	Missile Boat	R-239 Naberezhnye Chelny	Tarantul-III	1991	Active

68th Coastal Defense Ship Brigade

149th Antisubmarine Ship Task Force

#	Type	Name	Class	Year	Notes
059	Antisubmarine Corvette	MPK-49 Alexandrovets	Grisha I	1982
071	Antisubmarine Corvette	MPK-118 Suzdalets	Grisha III	1983	Active
064	Antisubmarine Corvette	MPK-134 Muromets	Grisha III	1983	In refit as of 2022

150th Minesweeper Task Force

#	Type	Name	Class	Year	Notes
911	Seagoing Minesweeper	Ivan Golubets	Natya I	1973	Damaged on 29 October 2022 during a drone attack on the port of Sevastopol.
913	Seagoing Minesweeper	Kovrovets	Natya I	1974	Active as of 2021
912	Seagoing Minesweeper	Turbinist	Natya I	1975	Unclear if active
951	Seagoing Minesweeper	Vice-admiral Zhukov	Natya I	1978	Unclear if active
601	Seagoing Minesweeper	Ivan Antonov	Alexandrit	2018	Active as of 2022
659	Seagoing Minesweeper	Vladimir Emelyanov	Alexandrit	2019	Active; deployed in the Mediterranean as of October 2022
631	Seagoing Minesweeper	Georgy Kurbatov	Alexandrit	2021	Active as of 2022

102nd Anti-Saboteur Squadron

#	Type	Name	Class	Year	Notes
836	Anti-Saboteur Boat	Yunarmeets Kryma	Grachonok	2014	Active
837	Anti-Saboteur Boat	Kinel	Grachonok	2014	Active
844	Anti-Saboteur Boat	Pavel Silaev	Grachonok	2017	Active
845	Anti-Saboteur Boat	P-345 Buyevlyanin	Raptor	2015	Active; deployed in the Mediterranean as of April 2022
838	Anti-Saboteur Boat	P-352 Oleg Shipitsin	Raptor	2015	Active
850	Anti-Saboteur Boat	P-413 Andrey Paliy	Raptor	2017	Ukrainian officials released 3 separate footages showing 6 Raptor-class boats damaged/destroyed
852	Anti-Saboteur Boat	P-415 Chapaevsk	Raptor	2017	Ukrainian officials released 3 separate footages showing 6 Raptor-class boats damaged/destroyed
831	Anti-Saboteur Boat	P-331	Flamingo	1986	Unclear if active
833	Anti-Saboteur Boat	P-407	Flamingo	1989	Unclear if active

184th Novorossiysk Coastal Defense Brigade

181st Antisubmarine Ship Division

#	Type	Name	Class	Year	Notes
055	Antisubmarine Corvette	MPK-199 Kasimov	Grisha-III	1984	Active
054	Antisubmarine Corvette	MPK-217 Eysk	Grisha-III	1987	Active
053	Antisubmarine Corvette	MPK-207 Povorino	Grisha-III	1989	In refit as of 2022 on the Novorossiysk
368	Patrol ship	Vasily Bykov	Project 22160	2018	Active in Mediterranean
375	Patrol ship	Dmitriy Rogachev	Project 22160	2019	Returned to the Black Sea from Mediterranean February 2022
363	Patrol ship	Pavel Derzhavin	Project 22160	2020	In refit; reported to be damaged by Ukrainian naval drone attack on 12 October 2023.
383	Patrol ship	Sergey Kotov	Project 22160	2022	Reported commissioned May 2022. Reported to be damaged claimed possibly sunk, by Ukrainian naval drone attack on 14 September 2023. It was attacked again by maritime drones, with Ukrainian intelligence claiming on 5 March 2024 that the ship was sunk.

170th Minesweeper Division

#	Type	Name	Class	Year	Notes
901	Seagoing Minesweeper	Anatoliy Zheleznyakov	Gorya	1988	Active as of 2021
770	Seagoing Minesweeper	Valentin Pikul	Natya I Mod (Project 0266ME)	2001	Active as of 2022
908	Seagoing Minesweeper	Vice-Admiral Zakharin	Natya (Project 0266.8)	2009	Returned to the Black Sea from Mediterranean February 2022
458	Base Minesweeper	ВТ-241 Mineralnyye Vody	Sonya	1989	Unclear if active
435	Base Minesweeper	BT-726	Sonya	1976	Unclear if active
438	Base Minesweeper	BT-40 Leytenant Il'in	Sonya	1982	Unclear if active
575	Landing Craft	D-144	Serna	2008	Ukrainian officials released video of a Serna Class landing craft being destroyed by a Bayraktar TB2 drone at Snake Island in early May 2022.
659	Landing Craft	D-199	Serna	2014	Ukrainian officials released video of a Serna Class landing craft being destroyed by a Bayraktar TB2 drone at Snake Island in early May 2022.
653	Landing Craft	D-106	Ondatra	2009

136th Anti-Saboteur Squadron

#	Type	Name	Class	Year	Notes
840	Anti-Saboteur Boat	Kadet	Grachonok	2011	Reported in the Mediterranean as of April 2022
841	Anti-Saboteur Boat	Suvorovets	Grachonok	2012
842	Anti-Saboteur Boat	Kursant Kirovets	Grachonok	2013
?	Anti-Saboteur Boat	P-274	Raptor	2015	Ukrainian officials released 3 separate videos showing 6 Raptor-class boats damaged/destroyed
?	Anti-Saboteur Boat	P-276	Raptor	2015	Ukrainian officials released 3 separate videos showing 6 Raptor-class boats damaged/destroyed

197th Assault Ship Brigade

#	Type	Name	Class	Year	Notes
142	Landing Ship	Novocherkassk	Ropucha	1987	Heavily damaged and partially sunk.
148	Landing Ship	Orsk	Alligator	1968	Active
150	Landing Ship	Saratov	Alligator	1966	Destroyed; 24 March 2022 at Berdyansk port by Armed Forces of Ukraine
152	Landing Ship	Nikolay Filchenkov	Alligator	1975	Active
156	Landing Ship	Yamal	Ropucha-I	1988	On 24 March 2024, it was reported that cruise missiles hit Yamal while in the home port of Sevastopol.
158	Landing Ship	Tsezar Kunikov	Ropucha-I	1986	Destroyed;
151	Landing Ship	Azov	Ropucha-II	1990	On 24 March 2024, it was reported that Azov was damaged while in the home port of Sevastopol.

#	Type	Name	Class	Year	Notes
127	Landing Ship	Minsk	Ropucha	1983
130	Landing Ship	Korolev	Ropucha	1983	Active, from Baltic Fleet
102	Landing Ship	Kaliningrad	Ropucha	1983	Active, from Baltic Fleet
016	Landing Ship	Georgy Pobedonosets	Ropucha	1983	Active, from Northern Fleet
012	Landing Ship	Olenegorsky Gornyak	Ropucha	1983
016	Landing Ship	Pyotr Morgunov	Ivan Gren-class vessel	2020	Active, from Northern Fleet

Black Sea Fleet amphibious vessels being joined by five additional Ropucha-class: (Minsk (127), Korolev (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.

388th Marine Reconnaissance Point/1229th Naval Intelligence Center

#	Type	Name	Class	Year	Notes
677	High-Speed Landing Craft	D-296	Raptor	2015	Claimed to be damaged by a Bayraktar TB2 drone one Project 02510 (presumably D-310 — OSINT) at Snake Island
655	High-Speed Landing Craft	D-309	Raptor	2018	Claimed to be damaged by a Bayraktar TB2 drone one Project 02510 (presumably D-310 — OSINT) at Snake Island

519th Separate Squadron

#	Type	Name	Class	Year	Notes
512	Intelligence Vessel	Kil'din	Moma	1979	Active; deployed in the Mediterranean as of April 2022
?	Intelligence Vessel	Ekvator	Moma	1980	Unclear if active
201	Intelligence Vessel	Priazovye	Vishnya	1972	Active, ensuring security of gas pipelines in the southeastern Black Sea
?	Intelligence Vessel	Ivan Khurs	Yury Ivanov	2018	Ukrainian claimed to damaged by USV in May 2023. The ship was later recorded returning to port with little or no damage.

9th Auxillary Ship Brigade

#	Type	Name	Class	Year	Notes
?	Fleet Oiler	Istra	Dora	1942	Transferred to the Soviet Union from Germany as part of war reparations; still reported in service
?	Fleet Oiler	Koyda	Uda	1966	Unclear if active
?	Fleet Oiler	Iman	Project 6404	1966	Active as of 2021
?	Floating Ship Repair Factory	PM-138	Project 304	1969	Active as of 2022
?	Floating Ship Repair Factory	PM-56	Project 304	1973	Active as of 2022
?	Fleet Oiler	Ivan Bubnov	Boris Chilikin (Project 1559V Morskoy prostor)	1975	Active as of 2021
?	Fleet Oiler	Vice Admiral Paromov	Project 03182	2021	Active; deployed in the Mediterranean as of May 2022
?	Logistics Support Vessel	Vsevolod Bobrov	Project 23120	2021	Arrived in the Black Sea January 2022 Claimed by Ukraine officials to have suffered major fire damage night of 11–12 May 2022 after an attack, but returned unharmed to Sevastopol on 15 May 2022.

176th Expeditionary Oceanographic Ship Division

#	Type	Name	Class	Year	Notes
?	Hydrographic Survey Vessel	Cheleken	Moma (Project 861)	1970	Unclear if active
?	Hydrographic Survey Vessel	Stvor	Yug (Project 862)	1983	Unclear if active
?	Hydrographic Survey Vessel	Donuzlav	Yug (Project 862)	1983	Active as of 2022

145th Rescue Ship Detachment

In March 2017 four Project 22870 tugs were assigned to the Black Sea Fleet: Vasily Bekh, Professor Nikolay Muru, Captain Guryev, and SB-742. Vasily Bekh was given the name Spasatel Vasily Bekh on 19 April 2021. 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.

#	Type	Name	Class	Year	Notes
?	Rescue Tug	Spasatel Vasily Bekh	Project 22870	2016	Sunk on 17 June 2022 by Ukrainian Harpoon missiles in the Black Sea.
?	Rescue Tug	Professor Nikolay Muru	Project 22870	2014	Claimed damaged on 13 October 2023 by Ukrainian officials.
?	Rescue Tug	Captain Guryev	Project 22870	2018	Active
?	Rescue Tug	SB-742	Project 22870	2019	Active
?	Rescue Tug	Mikhail Chekov	Project 22870	2024	Launched 21 May 2024

Black Sea Fleet ground forces, naval infantry and surface-to-surface missile forces

• 22nd Army Corps (HQ: Simferopol, Crimea; subordinate to the Black Sea Fleet):
  • 15th Guards Coastal Missile-Artillery Brigade – Sevastopol, Crimea: 3x K-300P Bastion-P anti-ship missile system (350 to 450 km range), P-800 Oniks anti-ship missile system (credited with 300 km to 600–800 km range) (Western designation SS-N-26), Bal anti-ship missile system (130 to 300 km range); targeting information provided by Monolit radar systems.
  • 126th Guards Coastal Defence Brigade (Perevalny, Crimea) (equipped as mechanized infantry, including T-72B3 main battle tanks)
  • 127th Reconnaissance Brigade (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
  • 854th Coastal Missile Regiment (Sevastopol)
• 171st Air Assault Battalion (Novostepove Crimea; subordinate to the 97th Regiment of the 7th Guards Mountain Air Assault Division, HQ at Novorossiysk, Krasnodar)
• 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)
• 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)
• Naval Infantry/Special Forces
  • 810th Guards Naval Infantry Brigade
  • 382nd Naval Infantry Battalion? (Status unclear as of 2021)
  • 388th Maritime Recon Point (Special Forces battalion)

Black Sea Fleet aviation and air defence forces

The 2nd Guards Naval Aviation Division is part of the Black Sea Fleet. 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 article: Russian Naval Aviation

• 43rd Independent Naval Shturmovik [Assault Aviation] Regiment – HQ at Gvardeyskoye, Crimea – 18x Su-24M; 4x Su-24MR (being replaced by Sukhoi Su-30SMs as of 2019; Su-30SMs reported active with the regiment as of 2021)
• 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) (may partly re-equip with Su-57?)
• 39th Helicopter Regiment (Dzhankoi) has been equipped with Mi-35M attack helicopters, Ka-52, Mi-28N, and Mi-8AMTSh helicopters (as of 2016).

31st Air Defense Division (HQ: Sevastopol) subordinate to the 4th Air and Air Defense Forces Army (HQ: Rostov-on-Don)

• 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).
• 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. 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). 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.

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.

Incidents

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. 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. As a military facility, the territory around the Sarych headland is closed to trespassers with barbed wire, and the Russian flag flew over Sarych.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• On 22 September 2023, Ukraine hit the headquarters of the BSF using a Storm Shadow missile, killing at least 6 people.
• on 1 February 2024, Ukraine released video purported to show the sinking of the Tarantul-class vessel Ivanovets by unmanned surface vehicle.
• On 5 March 2024, the Sergey Kotov patrol vessel was sunk using Magura V5 naval drone.
• 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.
• On 19 May 2024, Ukrainian forces destroyed the Project 22800 Karakurt class Tsiklon missile corvette in the port of Sevastopol with ATACMS missiles.
• In 12 November 2024, Valery Trankovsky, Captain of the 1st Rank and cheif of staff of a missile boat brigade, was killed in a car bomb explosion in Crimea. The Russian government has opened a terrorism investigation.

See also

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

Further reading

• Simonsen, Sven Gunnar (June 2000). "'You take your oath only once:' Crimea, The Black Sea Fleet, and national identity among Russian officers". Nationalities Papers. 28 (2): 289–316. doi:10.1080/713687467. ISSN 0090-5992. S2CID 128609425.

External links

• Russia – Ukraine Lease agreement
• Unofficial site
• History of the Black Sea Fleet during WWII (in Russian)
• Narodny Oglyadach reports on morale situation in Russian naval base in Sevastopol
• КОРАБЛІ УКРАЇНСЬКОЇ ФЛОТИ (1917–1918 рр.) – Ukrainian Navy (1917–1918) (in Ukrainian)
• Ukrainian Navy: ferial excursions into the past and present
• Ukraine – Historical Naval Flags (1918)