Russia is preparing to put 24 Ukrainian sailors on trial after attacking and seizing their three Navy vessels near the Kerch Strait on Nov. 25. The vessels were heading to the Ukrainian port of Mariupol in a bid to strengthen the Ukrainian military presence in the Azov Sea, in response to Russia’s ongoing blockade in the area. The Ukrainian National Defense and Security Council recognized the Russian attack as an act of unprovoked aggression and Ukraine has imposed a state of martial law in nearly half of the country in response. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has called the whole incident a Ukrainian “provocation” and the FSB is claiming Ukraine trespassed on Russia’s territorial waters. We dug into the intricacies of maritime law to see whether Russia’s accusations have any ground. Note: this article has been updated to include the last section “In whose waters?” and to include the Russian law “On the internal seas, territorial waters, and contiguous zone of the Russian Federation,” and details on the absense of a duly published suspension. The map has been updated to reflect the fact that the Azov sea is considered to be the territorial waters of both Ukraine and Russia, according to a 2003 agreement, and the fact that the official border between Ukraine and Russia has never been demarcated.
Russia's War Against Ukraine
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Alya Shandra: Who has a right to do what in the Azov Sea
This video grab taken from footage of local media Kerch Info on Nov. 25, 2018 shows Russian aircraft flying over the Crimean Bridge that spans the Kerch Strait, a narrow strip that links the Azov and Black seas, as a Russian ship blocks the strait, after Russia fired on and then seized three Ukrainian ships on Nov. 25, accusing them of illegally entering its waters in the Sea of Azov.
