The Black Sea Fleet was founded during the reign of Catherine II and has a glorious history of more than 230 years. After years of painstaking management, the Black Sea Fleet has become one of the world’s famous naval fleets, ranking third among the four major naval fleets of the Soviet Union. When the Soviet Union disintegrated, the main facilities of the Black Sea Fleet were concentrated in the Crimea Peninsula. The city of Sevastopol has four ports where ships of any class can be berthed.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia and Ukraine sparred over the ownership of the Black Sea Fleet. Based on the consideration of national interests, neither Russia nor Ukraine will give up the ownership of the Black Sea Fleet. For Russia, the Black Sea Fleet is of great significance.
First and foremost, the Black Sea Fleet is about the security of Russia’s southern border and its dominance in the Black Sea. The Black Sea region is a security barrier in southern Russia, and the loss of Sevastopol will directly threaten Russia’s military security in the Azov Sea, the Black Sea, the Mediterranean Sea and the Caucasus. Once the Black Sea Fleet is lost, the Russian Northern Fleet, the Baltic Sea Fleet and the Pacific Fleet will face the disadvantage of being divided and operating independently in wartime. The Black Sea Fleet was part of the Soviet armed forces. If the Black Sea Fleet is divided, Russia’s goal of maintaining a unified military-strategic space for the CIS countries will be difficult to achieve. What worries Russia even more is that after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the Black Sea Fleet’s strength has been damaged and its future is worrisome. Under the circumstance that the coastal defense of Russia’s Caucasus region is empty, warships from NATO non-Black Sea countries continue to appear in the Black Sea Fleet’s activity area.
In 1991, there were 5 warships of non-Black Sea countries entering and leaving the Black Sea Fleet’s active area, 16 in 1992, 19 in 1993, and 27 in 1994. In 1993, NATO adopted Resolution to include the Black Sea in NATO’s area of responsibility. This means that NATO’s range of operations is directly approaching Russia’s southern border. Once the Black Sea Fleet is divided, Russia’s dominant position in the Black Sea will cease to exist, and Russia’s defense capabilities on the southern border will be greatly reduced.
Second, the ownership of the Black Sea Fleet is related to the security of the strategic energy channel from Asia to Europe. If Russia controls Sevastopol and the Crimean peninsula, it will not only strengthen its control over this strategic energy channel and increase Russia’s influence in the Caspian and Black Seas, but will also help promote the Kalmykia Autonomous Republic , Astrakhan Oblast, Krasnodar Territory and the North Caucasus and other surrounding areas of economic development After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the situation in the Black Sea region has undergone complex changes.
Turkey took advantage of the weakening of the Black Sea Fleet to unilaterally impose strict restrictions on Russian ships passing through the Black Sea Strait. In order to weaken Russia’s influence in this region, the United States has been Actively advocate the construction of energy transportation pipelines that pass through Azerbaijan, Georgia, and bypass Russia to the Turkish port of Ceyhan. Ukraine supports the construction of the Odessa-Broad oil pipeline, hoping to bypass Russia and send oil from the Caspian Sea to Poland and other European countries. Ukraine also hopes to use sea freight to transport Azerbaijani oil to Odessa via the Georgian port of Supps. If it controls Sevastopol and the Crimean peninsula, Ukraine can take advantage of its favorable geographical location to exercise effective control over transportation in the Black Sea. All of this undoubtedly poses a challenge to Russia’s position in the Black Sea.