Russia-Ukraine War at Sea: Naval Blockades, Visit and Search, and Targeting War-Sustaining Objects

Russia-Ukraine War at Sea: Naval Blockades, Visit and Search, and Targeting War-Sustaining Objects

Russia-Ukraine War at Sea: Naval Blockades, Visit and Search, and Targeting War-Sustaining Objects On February 24, 2022, Russia’s Federal Agency for Sea and Inland Water Transport (Rosmorrechflot) announced the suspension of navigation in the Sea of Azov “until...
Stranded Seafarers Under International Humanitarian Law

Stranded Seafarers Under International Humanitarian Law

Stranded Seafarers Under International Humanitarian Law Introduction One of Ukraine’s first belligerent reactions to its invasion by the Russian Federation was closing its ports to international shipping—leaving 2000 seafarers stranded aboard 94 vessels in and around...
Merchant Shipping as Military Objectives and Naval Economic Warfare

Merchant Shipping as Military Objectives and Naval Economic Warfare

Merchant Shipping as Military Objectives and Naval Economic Warfare On July 17, 2023, within 48 hours of the suspension of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, Russia and Ukraine made pivotal declarations potentially expanding the scope of their hostilities to a hitherto...
Can the Black Sea Grain Initiative Continue Without Russian Participation?

Can the Black Sea Grain Initiative Continue Without Russian Participation?

Can the Black Sea Grain Initiative Continue Without Russian Participation? On July 17, 2023, the Black Sea Grain Initiative expired after Russia refused to extend the term of the UN-brokered accord that has “facilitated the export of more than 30 million tonnes of...
Closing the Turkish Straits in Times of War

Closing the Turkish Straits in Times of War

Closing the Turkish Straits in Times of War On February 21, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic as independent States and purportedly deployed Russian “peacekeeping” troops to...