Black Sea

Russia may lose its base at the Syrian port of Tartus after the fall of dictator Bashar Assad, which would deprive the Russians of their only fueling port on the Mediterranean Sea and cripple Moscow’s ability to threaten the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) from the south.

Ukraine’s military claimed to have hit two Russian Black Sea Fleet warships near Crimea as well as having struck a communications centre in Sevastopol.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, hoping to broker peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, warned on Tuesday that negotiations will only be possible if NATO avoids antagonizing Russia by expanding its membership and influence.

A modern Russian coastal warship has been swarmed by drones and sunk, Ukraine claims, the latest strike against the dwindling Black Sea Fleet.

Ukraine claims to have sunk a Soviet-era missile corvette in the Black Sea, releasing footage showing a swarm bombing the ship and it sinking.

Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania on Thursday signed an agreement to jointly tackle rogue sea mines that have threatened Black Sea shipping since the start of the Ukraine war.

NATO allies Turkey and the UK are at odds after the former denied permission for two ex-Royal Navy minehunters donated to Ukraine to pass through its waters on the way to the Black Sea.

Russia acknowledges a missile attack on warship Novocherkassk, which Ukraine claims to have destroyed in a cruise missile strike.

Two Royal Navy minehunter ships are to be transferred to Ukraine in an effort to strengthen the country’s ability to safeguard its shipping, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced Monday.

Turkish rescuers on Monday recovered the body of a crew member of a cargo ship that sank off Turkey’s Black Sea coast in severe storms.

A Russian missile strike on the Ukrainian port of Odesa hit a Liberian-flagged freighter, killing a port worker and injuring three crewmen.

The Russian navy has withdrawn from around Ukraine but still isn’t safe warns President Zelensky, saying they will still be in range.

Black Sea Fleet scattered to escape Ukrainian strikes and is now too far away from the war to be able to engage in it, a UK Minister said. 

Missile strike that blasted Crimean headquarters of Russia’s navy last week killed 34 officers, including the fleet commander, Ukraine said.

Ukraine carried out a fiery missile strike Friday on the main headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, a Russian official said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky took and left the stage at the U.N. General Assembly in New York to thunderous applause on Tuesday.

The first two cargo ships arrived in a Ukrainian port after Russia withdrew from an agreement on the transport of grain in the Black Sea.

The UK should keep handing over its stocks, former PM and key Zelensky ally Boris Johnson said, as Ukraine continues to strike Russia’s navy.

The recapture provides an energy source and takes back an asset that Russia seized in 2015 and used to launch helicopters.

UK will engage in “military efforts to deter Russian attacks” over the Black Sea as the govt condemns the Kremlin for damaging food security. 

Two people were hospitalised after a Russian drone barrage on a port in Ukraine’s Odesa region on Sunday, officials said.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet with Vladimir Putin on Monday, hoping to persuade him to rejoin the Black Sea grain deal.

Putin’s ranter-in-chief Medvedev made not-so-thinly veiled threats on Wednesday against two regions in Georgia, a NATO and EU aspirant.

Ukraine showing off the self-developed explosive sea drones it says it has used against the Crimea bridge and Russian ships. 

American alt-rock band The Killers apologized on Wednesday for bringing a Russian fan on stage at a concert in Georgia.

An explosion rocked a popular Romanian tourist seaside resort, the blast at the sea wall sending a plume of water into the air.

Ukraine says it considers all Russian transport vessels in the Black Sea legitimate targets, the “weakest link” in Russia’s supply lines.

Ukrainian drones hit a Russian tanker in the Black Sea near Crimea late Friday night, according to Russian officials.

Russia accused Ukraine early Friday of attacking its Black Sea navy base in the port of Novorossiysk with sea drones.

There is a “realistic possibility” Russia will deploy a task force to intercept civilian ships as part of a blockade, UK intelligence says. 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed support for Ukraine joining NATO, saying the country deserves to join the alliance.

Killer dolphins? Russia has deployed combat-trained marine mammals to its naval base in Ukraine, says an intelligence digest.

Russian forces fired cruise missiles at the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa and shelled the eastern Donetsk region early Wednesday.

Warning of a new threat to global food security, the U.N. said Russia is limiting the number of ships allowed to pick up Ukrainian grain.

Russia agreed to extend deal that has allowed Ukraine to ship grain through the Black Sea to parts of the world struggling with hunger.

The Russian Defense Ministry announced on Friday that Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu presented the pilots of two Su-27 jet fighters with awards for intercepting and crashing an American drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday.