Russia Also Building Up Naval Forces Near Ukraine

The build-up of land forces at the border between Russia and Ukraine has captured the world’s attention for the last two months. But what has gone less noticed in the national discussion are Russia’s activities in the Black Sea, a body of water with a history of international contention and strict laws governing maritime activities, Justin Katz reported for Breaking Defense.

Photo Insert: Put another way: The number of forces Russia has positioned in the Black Sea may not seem strange in 2022, but it certainly would stand out if it happened in 2012.

Analysts have tracked increased naval activity in and out of the Black Sea since the start of the Ukraine crisis, with researchers at the Center for Strategic and International Studies having found that Russia has increased its amphibious assault ship presence in the region by what amounts to an additional 1.5 battalion tactical groups. (A Russian BTG usually numbers around 800 personnel).

But while speaking in Washington this week, Adm. Pierre Vandier, the top officer in the French navy, posited that naval activity in the region is following the status quo, despite the tensions at the border.

“I think much of the concern is ashore. It’s land forces. Hospitals, tanks, and so forth,” Vandier said Monday during an event at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The admiral’s comments may elide another reality of the situation. Speaking at an event a day later, Bryan Clark, a fellow at the Hudson Institute, and Rep. Elaine Luria, D-Va, both agreed that the Russians have been slowly and steadily ramping up their activity and aggression in the Black Sea for the past decade.

Put another way: The number of forces Russia has positioned in the Black Sea may not seem strange in 2022, but it certainly would stand out if it happened in 2012. Russia has “been very thoughtful about how they’ve been ramping up their level of activity,” Clark said at the event, in response to a question about Vandier’s statement.

“We’ve become acclimatized to it. And now, yes, today isn’t that much different than it was maybe three months ago, but that’s a much higher level of naval activity [than what] existed 10 years ago.”

The Black Sea is a unique body of water compared to most places in the world. Almost completely encircled by a small handful of countries, including Russia and Ukraine, the only routes to enter or exit the region are a pair of straits controlled by Turkey.

The Montreux Convention, a 1936 agreement granting Turkey that authority, promises civilian ships free passage in and out of the region during times of peace, but the laws governing what kinds of warships may enter the Black Sea and how long they linger are much stricter.

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