Articles

cover

The Black Sea Report (3): The main tasks of the Black Sea Fleet as of February 24, 2022

11 June 2024
The Black Sea Institute of Strategic Studies and the BlackSeaNews continues to publish the analytical report of the Monitoring Group: Situation in the Black Sea During the Russian Aggression Against Ukraine in 2022-2024.
cover

The Black Sea Report (2). Composition of the Warring Parties' Forces and Russian Black Sea Fleet Objectives at the Opening Stage of Aggression

10 June 2024
On the eve of the large-scale aggression in February 2022, the Russian Black Sea Fleet (BSFRF) consisted of approximately 80 warships and boats and up to 200 support vessels stationed at 7 naval bases. At the same time, due to the chronic underfunding of the national fleet development programs, the Ukrainian Navy had a rather modest ship and boat composition. 
cover

Review and Database of Ukrainian Attacks on the Occupied Crimea, Russian Ships and Facilities on the Black Sea Coast in January-April 2024

17 May 2024
Between January and April 2024, i.e. over 121 days, the Ukrainian Defense Forces carried out at least 47 attacks on targets in the occupied Crimean Peninsula and ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. Those included: at least 15 attacks on Sevastopol; and no less than 6 on Russian Navy ships in the Black and Azov Seas; 11 on Yevpatoria, Saky, Black Sea and Razdolnensky districts (Western Crimea); 5 on Dzhankoi district; 2 on Feodosia region; and 3 along the Black Sea coast of the Russian Federation.
cover

Database of Russian Missile and UAV Attacks on Ukrainian Regions from the Occupied Crimea in January-April 2024

15 May 2024
In January-April 2024, for attacks on regions of Ukraine from the occupied Crimea, Russian Armed Forces used at least: 15 Kalibr cruise missiles, 40 Iskander-type ballistic missiles, 1 P-800 Oniks anti-ship missile, 3 3М22 Zircon hypersonic cruise missiles, 687 Shahed-136/131 UAVs launched both from Crimea and regions of Russia, 255 Shahed-136/131 UAVs launched from Crimea without simultaneous launches from the Russian territory and 22 reconnaissance UAVs of various types.
cover

102 Tankers Exported Crude Oil from Russian Baltic Sea Ports in April 2024: Database

15 May 2024
The Monitoring Group of the Black Sea Institute of Strategic Studies and BlackSeaNews presents a database of seaborne exports of crude oil from Russian ports on the Baltic Sea in April 2024. In total, 102 tankers exported crude oil from Russian ports on the Baltic Sea. They transported a total of about 11.8 million tons of crude oil.
cover

Violations of the embargo on seaborne imports of Russian petroleum products from Black Sea ports into the EU in April 2024 (database)

14 May 2024
In April 2024, 25 violations of the EU embargo on seaborne imports of Russian petroleum products (excluding crude oil) from the Black Sea were recorded. All violations involved the delivery of petroleum products to a transshipment point in the Laconian Gulf off the coast of Greece. In April 2024, 869,882 tons of Russian petroleum products were delivered to the transshipment point.
cover

Russian Crude Oil Imports to the EU Embargo Through the Russian Baltic Sea Ports: Database of April 2024 Violations

14 May 2024
In April 2024, 8 violations of the EU embargo on seaborne imports of Russian crude oil from the Baltic Sea were recorded. Three voyages were performed directly to the ports of the EU countries. Five voyages were involved the delivery of crude oil to the transshipment points.
cover

Violations of the embargo on the imports of crude oil from Russia into the EU in April 2024 (database)

13 May 2024
In April 2024, 3 violations of the EU embargo on seaborne imports of Russian crude oil from the Black Sea were recorded. All of them involved the delivery of crude oil to a transshipment point in the Laconian Gulf off the coast of Greece. Two voyages were made by tankers belonging to companies from Greece. Shipowner from Marshall Islands performed one voyage. In April 2024, a total of 199,352 tons of Russian crude oil were delivered to the EU in violation of the embargo, compared with 696,330 tons in March 2024.
cover

The Black Sea Report (Part 1). Situation in the Black Sea During the Russian Aggression Against Ukraine in 2022-2024.

11 May 2024
The Monitoring Group of the Black Sea Institute of Strategic Studies and BlackSeaNews presents the database of Russian warships, boats and vessels destroyed or damaged by the Ukrainian Defense Forces since February 2022.
cover

225 tankers exported crude oil and petroleum products from Russian Black Sea ports in April 2024: The database

10 May 2024
The Monitoring Group of the Black Sea Institute of Strategic Studies and BlackSeaNews, based on the results of its own monitoring, presents a database of seaborne exports of crude oil and petroleum products from Russian ports on the Black and Azov Seas in April 2024. In total, in April 2024, 225 tankers exported oil and petroleum products from Russian ports (excluding exports to Bulgaria and Romania). They transported a total of about 14.6 million tons of cargo, including 4.1 million tons of Russian crude oil (34 tankers), 6.9 million tons of Kazakh CPC crude oil (50  tankers), and 3.6 million tons of Russian petroleum products (141 tankers).
cover

Maritime Exports of Russian Petroleum Products Through its Baltic Sea Ports: April 2024 Database

10 May 2024
In April 2024, 57 violations of the export of Russian petroleum products (excluding crude oil) from the Baltic Sea were recorded. 3.7 mln tons of Russian petroleum products were delivered through the Russian ports of the Baltic Sea.
cover

Russian Baltic Sea Ports Petroleum Products Imports to the EU Embargo: Database of April 2024 Violations

09 May 2024
In April 2024, 13 violations (877.976 tons) of the EU embargo on seaborne imports of Russian petroleum products (excluding crude oil) to the transshipment points and EU ports from the Baltic Sea were recorded. The voyages were made by tankers belonging to shipowners registered in the following countries: Greece, Croatia, Marshall Islands, Turkey, India, Singapore, Italy, Norway and Seychelles.
cover

In April 2024, 50 Tankers exported Kazakh Oil from the Russian Black Sea Port of Novorossiysk (Database)

08 May 2024
In April 2024, a total of 50 tankers exported CPC oil from the Russian port of Novorossiysk, excluding the exports to Bulgaria and Romania. Together they exported a total of about 6.9 million tons of oil, including 5.8 million tons to the EU and 1.1 million tons to other countries.
cover

Database of Russian Missile and UAV Attacks on Ukrainian Regions from the Occupied Crimea in January-March 2024

19 April 2024
In January-March 2024, for attacks on regions of Ukraine from the occupied Crimea, Russian Armed Forces used at least: 6 Kalibr cruise missiles, 31 Iskander-type ballistic missiles, 1 P-800 Oniks anti-ship missile, 3 3М22 Zircon hypersonic cruise missiles, 618 Shahed-136/131 UAVs launched both from Crimea and regions of Russia, 178 Shahed-136/131 UAVs launched from Crimea without simultaneous launches from the Russian territory and 13 reconnaissance UAVs of various types.
cover

In March 2024, 48 Tankers exported Kazakh Oil from the Russian Black Sea Port of Novorossiysk (Database)

18 April 2024
In March 2024, a total of 48 tankers exported CPC oil from the Russian port of Novorossiysk, excluding the exports to Bulgaria and Romania. Together they exported a total of about 6.6 million tons of oil, including 5.6 million tons to the EU and 996 thousands tons to other countries.