The last time a Russian warship fired on a British one in the Black Sea was during the Crimean War, over 165 years ago, therefore, this puts into perspective the absolute importance of recent events in the Black Sea, where the Russian government admitted that it had fired a warning shot at HMS Defender, a British destroyer that was sailing through Crimean waters. What is more, the Russian state also conceded that it had dropped bombs in the path that the HMS Defender was taking (The Economist, 2021). Nonetheless, in order to understand the importance of these current events, one must also comprehend the recent history of tensions over the Crimean peninsula and the Black Sea.
The Black Sea is a region of crucial importance for Russia, particularly due to the fact that it is one of the main tools at Russia’s disposal to exert its power and influence over the Mediterranean. Therefore, because of this geo-strategic importance the Black Sea has been a territory heavily disputed by several powers like the United States, Turkey, France or the United Kingdom, which is one of the main reasons why Russia has given such importance to the Crimean peninsula. Russia took control of this territory which belonged to Ukraine in 2014 with military action after a series of post-revolutionary conflicts in the Ukrainian capital. However, this has left the Crimean peninsula in a very unstable position, notably because it is currently under Russian occupation, but the International Community still sees it as a Ukrainian territory. Even though most of the International Community still argues that this is a Ukrainian territory, Russia has still been able to enjoy the benefits that controlling the Crimean peninsula has, like a higher degree of influence over the Black Sea, which has seen how Russia has tried to significantly expand its control, for instance the Russian government has been able to severely restrict Ukrainian ships in the Black Sea and in the Azov Sea. This control was greatly portrayed in an event in 2018, when Russia attacked and captured three Ukrainian ships, which were traveling from the Black Sea to the Azov Sea through the Kerch Strait (Dickinson, 2021; Faulconbridge and Golubkova, 2021). The Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014 is probably the best-known event, however there are several others which portray the continuous Russian intentions of expanding its control over the Black Sea, for instance, in 2008 during the Russian war with Georgia, Russia showcased significant anger over US warships that were carrying out actions in the Black Sea (Faulconbridge and Golubkova, 2021).
Another aspect, which helps explain the actions carried out by the UK and Russia is the very tense relationship that both countries have had with one another in recent times, particularly after events in 2018 when ex-double agent Sergei Skripal, who had given information to Britain’s MI6 foreign spy service about hundreds of Russian agents, was poisoned with Novichok in Salisbury. This has not been the only attack on British soil, as for instance before there had been the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko with polonium. These events coupled with the huge importance that both countries give to the Crimean peninsula and the Black Sea has been a perfect recipe for tensions to blow up into serious actions (Gardner, 2021).
What exactly happened, was that the HMS Defender was on the Ukrainian port of Odessa, where it was helping with the enhancement of the Ukrainian navy, which is part of an agreement that was signed between the UK and Ukraine. UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab pointed out that “the Royal Navy ship was conducting innocent passage through Ukrainian territorial waters. We were doing so in accordance with international law and the Russian characterisation is predictably inaccurate.” This goes in accordance with international law of the sea were “innocent passage” permits a vessel to pass through another state’s territorial waters so long as this does not affect its security. Nevertheless, there are very different versions of the events, on the Russian side they have stated that there was a Russian coast guard warning clearly saying that they would shoot, as it was said that “if you don’t change the course, I’ll fire.” What is more, the Russian government has argued that they carried out such actions, due to the fact that according to them the British destroyer had sailed three kilometres into Russian waters, in the region of Cape Fiolent near the port of Sevastopol, which is the headquarters of the Russian Navy’s Black Sea fleet. On the other hand, the British side pointed out that the shots were part of a Russian gunnery exercise, even Raab told reporters in Singapore that “no shots were fired at HMS Defender” (Al Jazeera and News Agencies, 2021; Faulconbridge and Golubkova, 2021). Furthermore, the British government was also surprised at such drastic actions taken by the Russian side, a British defence source stated that “We knew that something might happen, but we didn’t quite expect the Russians to say that” (Sabbagh and Roth, 2021). Nonetheless, these events have sparked several incidents between both countries, for example, it has been reported that the Russian government summoned the British ambassador in Moscow, in order to reprimand the actions that the British destroyer had taken (Al Jazeera and News Agencies, 2021; Faulconbridge and Golubkova, 2021). Not only that but, these events also triggered a serious back-and-forth of messages between both sides. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson pointed out that “the important point is that we don’t recognise the Russian annexation of Crimea. This is part of a sovereign Ukrainian territory, it was entirely right that we should vindicate the law and pursue freedom of navigation in the way that we did, take the shortest route between two points, and that’s what we did.” “it was illegal, these are Ukrainian waters, and it was entirely right to use them to go from A to B” (Sabbagh and Roth, 2021; RFE/RL, 2021). What is more, Cabinet minister George Eustice even stated that British warships would “of course” sail again through the disputed waters “we never accepted the annexation of Crimea – these were Ukrainian territorial waters” (Forrest, 2021). The Russian side also gave a serious statement of the possible implications that these actions by the British could have if they continued, Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin’s official spokesman, pointed out that he believed Britain’s action was “a deliberate and premeditated provocation.” “In the event of a repeat of unacceptable provocative action — if those actions go too far, no options can be ruled out in terms of legally defending Russia’s borders.” Sergei Ryabkov, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister also stated the possible consequences as he argued that “those who try to test our strength are taking high risks.” “We may appeal to reason and demand to respect international law, ‘if it doesn’t help, we may drop bombs and not just in the path but right on target if colleagues don’t get it otherwise” (DW, 2021).
In very few occasions either the United States or other NATO Member State have acted against Russia’s maritime aggressions in this region, as there have been hardly any increase in international sanctions as a result of any manoeuvre done by the Russian government. Therefore, these actions by the UK government are of crucial importance, especially for showcasing the International Community’s stance against aggression, and the illegal annexation of Crimea. Nonetheless, the UK needs to galvanise its allies in order to continue such a risky stance, because if not Russia will be enabled to further increase its control, not only over the Crimean peninsula and the Black Sea, but also over the rest of the Ukraine and its neighbourhood (The Economist, 2021; Dickinson, 2021).
Bibliography:
- Al Jazeera and News Agencies. 2021. UK, Russia escalate war of words over Black Sea warship incident. Retrieved on June 28, 2021, available at: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/6/24/uk-russia-trade-barbs-over-black-sea-warship-incident
- Deutsche Welle (DW). 2021. UK PM Johnson slams Russia over Black Sea warship incident. Retrieved on June 28, 2021, available at: https://www.dw.com/en/uk-pm-johnson-slams-russia-over-black-sea-warship-incident/a-58031947
- Dickinson, P. 2021. British warship challenges Russian claims to Crimea. Atlantic Council.
- Faulconbridge, G. and Golubkova, K. 2021. Russia warns Britain it will bomb ships next time. Reuters. Retrieved on June 28, 2021, available at: https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/britain-says-dont-get-carried-away-by-warship-spat-with-russia-2021-06-24/
- Forrest, A. 2021. Russia news – live: Moscow releases video of Black Sea clash as Johnson says British navy ‘entirely right.’ The Independent. Retrieved on June 28, 2021, available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-news-black-sea-putin-b1871870.html
- Gardner, F. 2021. HMS Defender: What will be the fallout from Black Sea incident? BBC. Retrieved on June 28, 2021, available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-57589366
- Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). 2021. British PM Defends Freedom Of Navigation After Black Sea Incident With Russia. Retrieved on June 28, 2021, available at: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-black-sea-uk-hms-defender-shots-bombs-conflicting/31324222.html
- Roberts, P. 2021. The UK and Russia as Aggressor and Defender: Two Narratives, Similar Obligations. The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI).
- Sabbagh, D. and Roth, A. 2021. Britain acknowledges surprise at speed of Russian reaction to warship. The Guardian. Retrieved on June 28, 2021, available at: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/jun/24/british-warships-might-enter-crimean-waters-again-says-minister
- The Economist. 2021. Russian and British forces square off in the Black Sea. Retrieved on June 28, 2021, available at: https://www.economist.com/europe/2021/06/24/russian-and-british-forces-square-off-in-the-black-sea
By Mahmoud Refaat: The European Institute for International Law and International Relations.
