After the incident in Kerch Strait A few days have passed, and something has already cleared up today. However, some things still remain uncertain. Let's start with what's clear. Regardless of who is to blame for the incident (Russia and Ukraine blame each other), it is already clear who wants to escalate in this new situation. This is the Ukrainian side. Kyiv has declared martial law in ten Ukrainian regions, called on the West to protect them from Russian aggression and demands that new sanctions against Russia be immediately imposed, as well as tighten existing ones.
Russia, in turn, does not look, at least not yet, as a country willing to take advantage of the current situation to escalate the conflict (of course, this can always change). For example, the Russians did not protest too much when their diplomatic missions in Kyiv and Lvov were attacked.
However, if we talk about who is to blame for the incident, then there is still no concrete evidence of the guilt of one side or another. And the evidence presented to us is controversial. Ukraine has released footage allegedly showing that the Russians were the first to deliberately aim their double-sized ship at the Ukrainian vessel. But on the basis of this record it is difficult to say exactly where it all happened. Ukraine claims that the events unfolded outside the zone blocked by the Russians. Those, in turn, claim that they were forced to stop the Ukrainian ships, which refused to stop and did not report at all - at least it is claimed so - about their intention to pass through the Kerch Strait. Ukrainians say the opposite.
In addition, there are footage in which the detained Ukrainian sailors “confess” during interrogation by the Russians that from the very beginning they wanted to commit a provocation by forcibly breaking through the Kerch Strait. True, it would not be serious to consider these frames as “evidence”, since it is clear that the detained sailors could have been pressured to “admit” everything that is incriminated to them.
As tension grows, all these questions gradually fade into the background, and the question comes to the fore: what will happen now? After all, each new step is, perhaps, a choice between war and peace. And here we come to unclear points, and the first of them has to do with the Ukrainian city of Mariupol on the coast of the Sea of Azov.
Russia claims that the Kerch Strait is reopened, but the Ukrainian side reports the exact opposite. According to her statements, a de facto naval blockade of two of her cities - Mariupol and Berdyansk - has now been arranged. As I already wrote in one of the previous articles, the blockade of the Kerch Strait means at the same time the division of the relatively small (compared to the Russian) Ukrainian fleet into two parts. There are many other ships that are now "stuck" due to the naval blockade.
Ukrainian Minister of Infrastructure Volodymyr Omelyan said today that Ukrainian ports on the Sea of Azov are now blocked as Russia does not allow any ship to enter or exit the sea.
“35 vessels are blocked. The movement is carried out only in the direction of Russian ports on Azov, - the Ukrainian minister wrote on the social network. “The goal is obvious - blocking the operation of Ukrainian ports in the Sea of Azov and gradually ousting Ukraine from our legal territories, enshrined in international law.”
Of course, international law has become less important in recent years, and the Ukrainian side is also aware of this, which considers Crimea, like Donbas, temporarily occupied territory. In the event of an escalation, the same scenario could be repeated in the territory between Crimea and the Russian mainland, that is, on the Azov coast, where Mariupol and Berdyansk are located (and also several other small cities, but these ports are the main ones).
Omelyan stressed that 18 ships are waiting for a passage to the Sea of Azov to be opened to them. Four are sent to Berdyansk, and 14 - to Mariupol. Nine more ships are waiting to leave the Sea of Azov, the minister said. These are mainly transport ships carrying grain and steel.
If this information is correct (and it can be easily verified), then the blockade still remains, despite the statements of the Russian side that the Kerch Strait is open again. In addition, apparently, Ukraine is not the only one who believes that there is a blockade. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas suggested it was possible, saying that "the blockade of the Sea of Azov is unacceptable."
If the blockade remains, what will happen next? This in itself indicates how far Poroshenko is willing to go in his rash actions. Due to the detention of three small ships and 20 sailors in an incident that did not claim any life, Poroshenko, despite all international laws on free navigation and so on, easily calls for a scenario that could easily turn into a military conflict between Russia and NATO. Poroshenko understands all this, but probably does not bother him.
Will his wish be granted? It's almost certain to say no. No one is going to “drive” warships into the Sea of Azov in the same way as into the South China Sea (and now we are observing this), and everyone understands this. On the one hand, the reason is that Russia, unlike China in the South China Sea, has a recognized international level access to the Kerch Strait and the Sea of Azov (China, in its case, can only dream of such a thing). On the other hand, Moscow is not Beijing. If the Chinese say they are "very angry" and ready to "take action" if US warships continue to cruise around the disputed islands that the Chinese have appropriated, no one takes them seriously. If Russia threatens, its statements are taken seriously. (Recall, for example, the development of the situation around the daily Israeli raids on Syria: since Russia said “enough”, there has not been a single raid!)
Further. Despite the fact that international law means less and less every day, in this case one cannot ignore the fact that the Kerch Strait, like the Sea of Azov, belongs, according to international law, Russia and Ukraine. In other words, no one, neither the United States nor any other power, can freely “surf” this water area (as the American fleet does in the South China Sea) without agreement with Ukraine and Russia.
Well, if this is a common water area, then why did Russia open fire on Ukrainian ships? Is this aggression? How to look. Many, especially those who do not believe that this incident will result in something more, will say that this is a purely bilateral dispute between Ukraine and Russia over the territory that they use jointly. Of course, in this situation there is no point in playing the champion of the law. It is more than clear to everyone that there is hardly a “bilateral relationship” between Russia and Ukraine and that this incident is in fact the result of bad relations between Moscow and Kiev.
Nevertheless, a treaty is a treaty, and the agreement concluded between Russia and Ukraine in 2003 continues to operate. In particular, it states that "the settlement of issues related to the water area of the Kerch Strait is carried out by agreement between the parties." The text of the agreement also says that foreign warships can enter the Sea of Azov at the invitation of one of the parties. Thus, from a formal point of view, Ukraine has the right to invite NATO ships to the Sea of Azov today. Whether the alliance will accept such an invitation is another question. It's almost certain to say no. Of course, Poroshenko would very much like this, but he can only dream. True, Trump may suddenly decide that this is the perfect chance for a war with Russia, but this is unlikely to happen. Trump has plenty of other things to think about, including how to get China to agree to his economic terms right now.
Speaking of Trump, what matters is what happens this weekend when he meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin (although Trump says he's not sure the meeting is necessary, and the Kremlin keeps saying "everything is going according to plan" and the meeting will take place). In fact, we still don’t know what the two talked about at their last meeting in Helsinki (apart from a short greeting in Paris, where both of them arrived at the celebrations in honor of the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War). But we can assume that they have already talked about Ukraine.
Perhaps Putin will be able to convey to his American counterpart that the escalation is not reasonable, and perhaps he will not be able to. Who knows? The relationship between Trump and Putin is highly mysterious.
Another factor will greatly affect the outcome of the current situation. We are talking about the presidential elections in Ukraine. Is the result already predetermined? Have the strong Western powers already chosen who they want to see at the helm after March next year? If “the deal has already been made” and they are already fed up with Poroshenko and his corruption, and if they would like to see Yulia Tymoshenko in power, then the current president has nothing to hope for. In that case, the current incident is really his last cry to the West not to "leave" him.
This material contains an assessment of exclusively foreign media and does not reflect the position of the editors of News Front
Initially, the Russian military reported that the Russian research ship Black Sea Fleet"Liman" collided with the ship "Ashot-7". The incident occurred at 11.53 am in the southwestern part of the Black Sea, 40 km northwest of the Turkish Bosporus Strait. As a result of the collision, the Russian ship received a hole in the starboard side below the waterline, they said.
Seven minutes after the collision, at 12.00, ships of the Black Sea Fleet were sent to the scene, and a rescue team from the fleet's duty forces flew out on an An-26 aircraft. According to the Russian military, there were no casualties among the crew members of the Liman. “The crew of the ship is fighting for the survivability of the ship,” the Defense Ministry quoted a statement.
The ownership of the Ashot-7 vessel is now being specified, the Russian military department said.
However, the Turkish edition of the Daily Sabah reports that this is a cargo ship sailing under the flag of the West African state of Togo and transporting livestock. According to the publication, the ships collided due to heavy fog.
The Liman crew was unable to keep the ship afloat, but all 78 crew members were successfully rescued by the Turkish Coast Guard.
Earlier, the Daily Sabah reported that 15 Russian sailors disappeared after the collision of ships, but later removed this information from its website.
The Russian Defense Ministry denied this information. “All members of the crew of the Liman research vessel of the Black Sea Fleet in full force are alive, healthy and are currently preparing for evacuation from the Turkish rescue ship to the Russian ship,” the ministry said in a statement.
All members of the Liman crew will be delivered to the base of the Black Sea Fleet, the Ministry of Defense specified. All reports of "Western media" about the missing Russian sailors are untrue and are "yet another disinformation," the ministry stressed.
The state of Ashot-7 after the collision is not specified. At the same time, it reports that the collision occurred with the ship Youzarsif H. According to the Marine Traffic resource, which tracks the movement sea vessels and their current location in ports, Youzarsif H is indeed a Togo-flagged livestock freighter. According to the portal, the day before, on April 26, the ship left the Romanian port of Midia.
According to the map posted on Marine Traffic, the vessel Youzarsif H is currently in the Black Sea. Next to it are the Russian ship Ulus Star, as well as the Turkish ship Kurtarma 3. The Liman ship is not shown on the map, there is no information about the Ashot-7 ship in open sources.
The Ministry of Defense confirmed that at the time of the collision of the ships, the ship Ulus Star was not far from the scene of the incident, which went to help the sailors.
The Turkish side transmitted to Russia, through government channels, the necessary information about the accident with the Liman research vessel of the Black Sea Fleet. This was confirmed by the press service.
“The Turkish side transmitted information about the incident and about measures to provide assistance to Russian sailors,” the press service said. - It is possible that in the near future phone conversation Prime Ministers of Russia and Turkey and
The Liman ship was built in Gdansk, Poland and was first launched in 1970. At first, the ship was part of the Baltic Fleet, it was transferred to the Black Sea Fleet in 1974. In the late 1980s, Liman was upgraded into a medium reconnaissance ship. According to open data at the beginning of 2017, Liman was part of the 519th separate division of reconnaissance ships of the Black Sea Fleet based in Sevastopol.
The Liman is 73.3 meters long, 11.2 meters wide, and has a draft of 3.9 meters. The ship is equipped with the Don radar system and the Bronze sonar system, as well as various radio intelligence equipment. Of the weapons, the ship is equipped only with the Igla portable anti-aircraft missile system.
In 2015-2017, Liman repeatedly conducted surveillance in the Mediterranean Sea during the Russian military operation in Syria. In 2016 and 2017, the ship also monitored the naval exercises of the member countries and Ukraine Sea Breeze and Sea Shield in the Black Sea.
The ship of the Black Sea Fleet "Liman" sank after a collision with a cargo ship 40 km from the Bosphorus, the Turkish Coast Guard reported. Crew evacuated
Ship "Liman" (Photo: A. Brichevsky / Black Sea Fleet)
After a collision in the Black Sea, the Russian warship "Liman" sank. This is reported by Reuters with reference to representatives of the Turkish coast guard. The entire crew of the Russian ship, consisting of 78 people, was evacuated.
The information that the ship sank was also confirmed by the Russian Ministry of Defense, RIA Novosti reports. As clarified in the department, the ship sank, having received holes as a result of the collision. The defense department also confirmed that the entire crew of the vessel had been rescued and was preparing to be evacuated to the Russian ship. Reports of missing persons after the collision in the Black Sea, the Ministry of Defense called untrue.
“The Russian vessel Ulus-star, located one and a half miles away, is arriving at the scene of the incident, which will deliver the entire crew to the base of the Black Sea Fleet,” the Defense Ministry said.
Reuters, citing sources in the Turkish government, reports that Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim had a telephone conversation with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, during which the parties discussed the incident. The Turkish prime minister expressed his regret to Medvedev over what had happened.
About the Russian research vessel of the Black Sea Fleet "Liman" with a cargo ship that sailed under the flag of Togo and transported livestock, it became known on the afternoon of April 27. The collision occurred 40 km northwest of the Bosphorus. As reported by the Ministry of Defense, as a result of the collision, the Liman received a hole in the starboard side below the waterline.
Liman entered the Black Sea Fleet in 1974. Before that, the ship had been assigned to the Baltic Fleet for four years. Its total displacement is about 1.5 thousand tons, maximum speed travel - 17 knots. The Don radar system, the Bronza sonar system, the Rotor-N, Watch-M, Watch-10, Watch-12 radio intelligence equipment and others are installed on board. Of the weapons on the "Liman" there is only a portable anti-aircraft gun missile system"Needle".
The ship Youzarsif H, which collided with the Russian ship, is designed to transport livestock. According to the Marinetraffic service, which displays ship data and their location, the ship was traveling from the Romanian port of Midia to Jordanian Aqaba. Next to the ship is now the Turkish Coast Guard ship Kiyem-3. He is performing a search and rescue operation, according to the Marinetraffic website.
"Liman" was built at the shipyard in Gdansk in 1970. Youzarsif H was launched in 1977 and can take on board more than 2.1 thousand tons of cargo.
Research vessel of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation "Liman".
This case is unprecedented in the history of the Soviet and Russian Navy after World War II.
After 1945, submarines became the victims of such navigational accidents. At least four such disasters are known:
- the submarine M-200 in 1956 in the Gulf of Tallinn collided with the destroyer "Statny" and sank, killing 28 sailors;
- S-342 in 1958, when leaving the Ekaterininsky harbor of the city of Polyarny, collided with the Alazan tanker, 7 people died, the submarine was subsequently restored;
- nuclear missile carrier K-56 in 1973 in Peter the Great Bay crashed into the research vessel "Akademik Berg", killing 27 sailors, the submarine was repaired;
- Submarine S-178 in the East Bosporus near the coast of Primorsky Krai collided with the vessel "Refrigerator-13" and sank, killing 32 submariners.
There were very few cases of collisions of large surface ships, resulting in their death, human casualties or serious damage, in the Navy of the USSR and Russia. These include the following:
March 13, 1977 At the entrance to the Polish port of Swinoujscie, a small anti-submarine ship MPK-97 of the Baltic Fleet collided with the Swedish tanker Runo. The accident occurred in conditions of heavy fog due to incorrect actions of the MPK-97 commander. The stem of the anti-submarine ship was broken, and the hull plating in the bow was torn off the tanker.
November 27, 1978 near the island of Toros in the Barents Sea, a small anti-submarine ship MPK-40 collided with a border ship "Sapphire". Both ships were severely damaged and underwent lengthy repairs.
August 11, 1982 During night exercises in the Desantnaya Bay (Vladivostok), landing ships BDK-181 and SDK-172 collided. Both received moderate injuries.
September 24, 1985 The training ship of the Baltic Fleet "Khasan", passing through the Bosphorus, collided with the Turkish missile boat Meltem in the fog. The Turkish ship sank, the number of victims is unknown.
May 14, 1986 In the area of the Bosphorus Strait, in foggy conditions, the ship "Kapitan Soroka" of the Black Sea Shipping Company, en route to Odessa, crashed into the supply ship "Berezina" of the Black Sea Fleet, which was leaving Sevastopol with a cargo of fuel, food and ammunition. On the "Berezina" the board was torn apart, a fire broke out. However, the hole was repaired, the fire was extinguished, and the transport was able to return to Sevastopol on its own. There were no dead or injured.
August 23, 1986 in the area of the Rybachy Peninsula (Murmansk region), the B-103 submarine of the Northern Fleet hit the TL-995 torpedo stem, after which it turned over with its keel up and sank. Seven people died.
September 8, 1988 in the Sea of Japan, a small anti-submarine ship MPK-40 collided with a border guard PSKR-803. The reason was the erroneous actions of the commanders during a dangerous approach. The ships received significant damage and were out of order for a long time.
December 8, 1988 in the Gulf of Riga, the medium-sized freezing fishing trawler "KI-8067" of the collective farm "For the Motherland", en route from Baltiysk to fish, slightly deepened into the area of military exercises, where it collided with patrol ship SKR-86 of the Baltic Fleet. The stem was deformed on the patrol boat, the trawler received a hole 0.7 m below the waterline and sank during towing. There were no victims.
In all the cases described above, the cause of the accidents was the errors of crews that violated established rules navigation.
The incident occurred around noon near the Bosphorus. According to TASS in the Turkish coast guard, all Russian sailors have been evacuated. According to the statements of the Ministry of Defense, there were no casualties.
Reconnaissance ship "Liman". Photo: Sergey Petrosyan/TASS
Updated 17:07
The ship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet "Liman" sank after the collision. The entire crew was rescued, the press service of the Russian Defense Ministry reported. 78 Russian sailors were evacuated by the Turkish Coast Guard. According to TASS, there were no dead or missing. The Russian military was taken on board two coast guard boats. No word yet on where they will be delivered.
The collision occurred around noon near Cape Kilyos, 40 kilometers northwest of the Bosphorus. The likely reason is low visibility due to fog. The ship "Liman" collided with the ship "Ashot-7", whose ownership is not specified. According to Turkish media, this is a livestock ship that sails under the flag of Togo.
