Ukraine to Send Warships to Sea of Azov

Ships will enter Russian waters amid rising tensions

A month after a maritime incident in the area, and with substantial tensions, Ukraine has announced its intention to send more warships to the Sea of Azov, which means once again crossing throughout Russian waters.

Ukrainian officials say they will create a naval group at their own ports in the sea, overtly saying it is meant to contest Russian claims in the Sea of Azov after Crimea’s accession into the Russian Federation.

It’s not clear what sort of ships will be sent, though Ukraine has a very limited navy at any rate. It is unlikely they can make a serious challenge to Russia over control of the sea, even if they try to do so.

Interestingly, this announcement comes just one day after Russia announced that they had intelligence on an upcoming Ukrainian “provocation,” and are sending warplanes to Crimea to potentially react to them.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.