Kerch Strait incident — 2018 international incident between Russian and Ukrainian navy
The first open military engagement between Russian and Ukrainian forces during the Russo-Ukrainian War, resulting in the capture of three Ukrainian naval vessels and 24 sailors.
Key Facts
- Date
- 25 November 2018
- Ukrainian vessels seized
- 3 (two gunboats, one tugboat)
- Ukrainian sailors detained
- 24
- Ukrainian crew members injured
- 3
- Ukrainian martial law duration
- 25 November – 26 December 2018
- Governing treaty cited
- 2003 Russia-Ukraine treaty on Azov Sea
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Following Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea and construction of the Crimean Bridge across the Kerch Strait, tensions over navigation rights in the strait and Sea of Azov intensified. A 2003 bilateral treaty designated the waterway as shared territorial waters, but Russia demanded Ukrainian vessels seek permission before transiting, a position Ukraine rejected as illegitimate given the disputed status of Crimea.
On 25 November 2018, a Ukrainian flotilla of two gunboats and a tugboat attempted to transit the Kerch Strait from the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov. Russian coast guard vessels blocked passage by placing a cargo ship under the bridge, pursued the Ukrainian ships after they turned back, and then fired upon and seized all three vessels in international waters off Crimea, detaining all 24 crew members and wounding three.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko declared martial law in border and coastal regions, lasting until 26 December 2018. Russia characterized the incident as a deliberate provocation ahead of Ukraine's 2019 presidential election. Western leaders raised the incident at the 2018 G20 Buenos Aires summit in discussions about further sanctions against Russia, and the event marked the first openly acknowledged direct military clash of the Russo-Ukrainian War.