The Sevastopol Naval Base (; ) is an occupied

naval base A naval base, navy base, or military port is a military base, where warships and naval ships are docked when they have no mission at sea or need to restock. Ships may also undergo repairs. Some naval bases are temporary homes to aircraft that usu ...

located in

Sevastopol Sevastopol ( ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important port and naval base th ...

, in the disputed

Crimean Peninsula Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrai ...

. The base is used by the

Russian Navy The Russian Navy is the Navy, naval arm of the Russian Armed Forces. It has existed in various forms since 1696. Its present iteration was formed in January 1992 when it succeeded the Navy of the Commonwealth of Independent States (which had i ...

, and it is the main base of the

Black Sea Fleet The Black Sea Fleet () is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Mediterranean Sea. The Black Sea Fleet, along with other Russian ground and air forces on the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula, are subordin ...

. Internationally, the base is recognised as part of Ukrainian territory under Russian occupation.

Geography

The Sevastopol Naval Base is almost completely located within the administrative territory of Sevastopol. It has several berths located in several bays of Sevastopol – Severnaya (; ), Yuzhnaya (; ), Karantinnaya (; ) and others.

History

Tsarist Russia

The port was renovated in 1772, while the

Russo-Turkish War The Russo-Turkish wars ( ), or the Russo-Ottoman wars (), began in 1568 and continued intermittently until 1918. They consisted of twelve conflicts in total, making them one of the longest series of wars in the history of Europe. All but four of ...

was still ongoing, and was finished in 1783, following the

annexation of Crimea by the Russian Empire The territory of the Crimean Khanate was annexed by the Russian Empire on . Russia had wanted more control over the Black Sea, and an end to the Crimean slave trade, and as such, waged a series of wars against the Ottoman Empire and its Cri ...

. On 13 May 1783, the first eleven ships of the

Imperial Russian Navy The Imperial Russian Navy () operated as the navy of the Russian Tsardom and later the Russian Empire from 1696 to 1917. Formally established in 1696, it lasted until being dissolved in the wake of the February Revolution and the declaration of ...

reached the

Sevastopol Bay Sevastopol Bay (; ) is a city harbor that includes a series of smaller bays carved out along its shores. The bay of Sevastopol splits the city of Sevastopol into the Southern side and the Northern side. It serves as an extension of the Chorna (r ...

. During the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

(1853–1856), all large ships were

scuttled Scuttling is the act of deliberately sinking a ship by allowing water to flow into the hull, typically by its crew opening holes in its hull. Scuttling may be performed to dispose of an abandoned, old, or captured vessel; to prevent the vesse ...

in the entrance to the bay in 1854 to prevent the entry of enemy ships into the bay. The city defended itself for 349 days against the allied armies of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

and Piedmont-Sardinia. Eventually, the Russians had to abandon Sevastopol on 9 September 1855.

Soviet Russia

During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the

Imperial German Army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the leadership of Kingdom o ...

occupied Sevastopol on 1 May 1918 despite the ongoing negotiations to reach the

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a separate peace treaty signed on 3 March 1918 between Soviet Russia and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria), by which Russia withdrew from World War I. The treaty, whi ...

. After further negotiations, the most important ships of the

in Tsemes Bay in front of

Novorossiysk Novorossiysk (, ; ) is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It is one of the largest ports on the Black Sea. It is one of the few cities designated by the Soviet Union as a Hero City. The population was History In antiquity, the shores of the ...

were sunk by their crews. During the

Crimean campaign The Crimean campaign was conducted by the Axis powers, Axis as part of Operation Barbarossa during World War II. The invading force was led by Nazi Germany, Germany with support from Kingdom of Romania, Romania and Fascist Italy, Italy, wh ...

(1941–1942) of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the Black Sea Fleet of the

Soviet Navy The Soviet Navy was the naval warfare Military, uniform service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy made up a large part of the Soviet Union's strategic planning in the event of a conflict with t ...

was able to fend off the first air attack by the

Nazi German Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

. However, after the city defended itself for 250 days, Sevastopol fell to the Germans on 4 July 1942.

Ukrainian control

After the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

at the end of 1991, the former Soviet Black Sea Fleet initially came under jurisdiction of

United Armed Forces of the Commonwealth of Independent States The United Armed Forces of the Commonwealth of Independent States () was a short-lived military entity associated with the Commonwealth of Independent States. It was created in 1992 after the demise of the Soviet Union, and was intended to be the ...

. The ownership over Black Sea Fleet as well as its home base in Sevastopol became a subject of dispute between sovereign Russia and Ukraine. In 1997, the Russian Federation and Ukraine signed the Partition Treaty on the Status and Conditions of the Black Sea Fleet which ended the dispute. Ukraine which allowed the Russian-allocated ships to remain on Ukrainian territory until 2017, sharing the Sevastopol Bay along with ships of

Ukrainian Navy The Ukrainian Navy (), is the Navy, maritime force of Ukraine and one of the eight Military branch, service branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The naval forces consist of five components: surface forces, submarine forces, Ukrainian Naval ...

. The lease arrangements were altered by the 2010 Kharkiv Pact, which tied a 30% reduction in the price of

natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...

charged by Russia since 2009 to the continued occupation of the naval base until 2042. From then on,

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

paid an annual lease to

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

for the use of the base until the annexation-eviction occurred in 2014.

Russian control (2014-present)

Since the

annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation In February and March 2014, Russia invaded the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula, part of Ukraine, and then annexed it. This took place in the relative power vacuum immediately following the Revolution of Dignity. It marked the beginning of the Russ ...

in 2014, the naval base is again under Russian control.

Post-invasion of 2022

On 13 September 2023, Storm Shadow missiles were used in a strike against the

port of Sevastopol Sevastopol port in 2005 Sevastopol Marine Trade Port (SMTP) is a port in Sevastopol. It is located mainly at the Bay of Sevastopol, and at smaller bays around the Heracles peninsula. The port infrastructure is fully integrated with the city of ...

, seriously damaging the Kilo-class submarine '' Rostov na Donu'' and seriously damaging (according to some sources, beyond repair) the Ropucha-class landing ship ''

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

''. On 22 September 2023, at least three Storm Shadow missiles hit Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Sevastopol, reportedly killing Admiral

Viktor Nikolayevich Sokolov Viktor Nikolayevich Sokolov (; born 4 April 1962) is an officer of the Russian Navy and former commander of the Black Sea Fleet. He holds the rank of admiral. In 2016, as deputy commander, Sokolov was in charge of a detachment of the Northern ...

, commander of the Black Sea Fleet. Russia later released videos purporting to show him alive, while Ukraine later said it was re-evaluating his claimed death. On 25 September 2023, Russian authorities have announced that they would demolish the existing headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet.

Gallery

File:First map of Sevastopol Bay by Ivan Baturin 1773.jpg, The first map of the Akhtiar (Sevastopol) Bay, created by navigator Ivan Baturin and his team, 1773. File:Ivan Constantinovich Aivazovsky - The Russian Squadron on the Sebastopol Roads.jpg, ''The Russian Squadron on the Sebastopol Roads'' (1846), by

Ivan Aivazovsky Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky (; ) was a Russian Romantic painter who is considered one of the greatest masters of marine art. Baptized as Hovhannes Aivazian, he was born into an Armenian family in the Black Sea port of Feodosia in Crime ...

. File:1904 Sevastopol.png, Map of Sevastopol, 1904. File:Sebastopol vers 1905 photo couleur.jpg, Color view of part of the port, 1905. File:Port-Sevastopol1918.jpg, Aerial view of the port, August 1918. File:Aleksandrovets&Muromets2005Sevastopol.jpg, Russian ships in Sevastopol, 2005. File:Ivanovets R-334 and 962 project 12417 2008 G1.jpg, Russian ships in Sevastopol, 2008. File:418 дивизион тральщиков 68-ой бригады кораблей ОВР. Севастополь. Крым. Россия. Май 2015 - panoramio.jpg, Russian ships in Sevastopol, 2015.

References

External links

Photos Black Fleet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sevastopol Naval Base Buildings and structures in Sevastopol Military units and formations established in 1783 Military installations established in 1783

Naval Base A naval base, navy base, or military port is a military base, where warships and naval ships are docked when they have no mission at sea or need to restock. Ships may also undergo repairs. Some naval bases are temporary homes to aircraft that usu ...

Naval history of Russia Military history of Ukraine Russia–Ukraine relations Military installations of Russia in other countries