Black Sea Fleet

Russian Black Sea Fleet
Russian Black Sea Fleet
Черноморский флот
	Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet
Active	13 May 1783 – present
Allegiance	Russian Empire (1783–1917); Soviet Russia (1918–1922); Soviet Union (1922–1991); Commonwealth of Independent States (1991–1992); Russian Federation (1992–present);
Branch	Russian Navy
Role	Naval warfare;; Amphibious military operations;; Combat patrols in the Black Sea;; Naval presence/diplomacy missions in the Mediterranean and elsewhere
Size	25,000 personnel (including marines); c. 39 surface warships (surface combatants, amphibious, mine warfare) plus support and auxiliaries ; 7 submarines (2 of which are in the Mediterranean as of March 2022)
Part of	Russian Armed Forces
Garrison/HQ	Sevastopol (HQ), Feodosia (Crimea) ; Novorossiysk HQ, Tuapse, Temryuk (Krasnodar Krai) ; Taganrog (Rostov Oblast)
Anniversaries	13 May
Engagements	Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792) Battle of Tendra; ; Crimean War Battle of Sinop; ; World War I Battle of Cape Sarych; ; Russian Civil War; World War II Crimean offensive; ; Russo-Georgian War; Russo-Ukrainian War Russian invasion of Ukraine; ; Syrian civil war;
Commanders
Notable; commanders	Grigory Potemkin; Adm. Fyodor Ushakov; Adm. Alexander Menshikov; Adm. Pavel Nakhimov; Adm. Yevgeni Alekseyev; Adm. Andrey Ehbergard; Adm. Alexander Kolchak; Adm. Ivan Yumashev; Adm. Filipp Oktyabrskiy; Adm. Lev Vladimirsky; Fleet Adm. Sergey Gorshkov; Fleet Adm. Vladimir Kasatonov; Adm. Vladimir Masorin

The Black Sea Fleet (Russian: Черноморский флот, romanized: Chernomorskiy flot) is the 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 Crimean Peninsula, are subordinate to the Southern Military District of the Russian Armed Forces. The fleet traces its history to its founding by Prince Potemkin on 13 May 1783 as part of the Imperial Russian Navy. The Russian SFSR inherited the fleet in 1918; with the founding of the Soviet Union in 1922, it became part of the Soviet Navy. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Black Sea Fleet was partitioned between the Russian Federation and Ukraine in 1997, with Russia receiving title to 82% of the vessels.

The Black Sea Fleet has its official primary headquarters and facilities at the Sevastopol Naval Base, Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014. The rest of the fleet's facilities are based in locations on the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, including Krasnodar Krai, Rostov Oblast and Crimea.

The ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War led to major operations and losses due to Ukrainian missiles and umanned surface vehicles including the flagship Moskva and several landing vessels. Additionally, there was a 2023 Ukrainian missile strike against the Black Sea Fleet HQ in Sevastopol itself;^[4]^[5] another happened on 24 March 2024.^[6] Ukraine spokesman has said that they have disabled or damaged one third of the fleet during the war.^[7]

^ "Шойгу: действия Минобороны РФ в Крыму были вызваны угрозой жизни мирного населения". itar-tass.com. Archived from the original on 1 December 2014. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
^ Altman, Jonathan (Winter 2016). "Russian A2/AD in the Eastern Mediterranean: A Growing Risk". Naval War College Review. 69 (1). Newport, Rhode Island: U.S. Naval War College: 72. ISSN 0028-1484.
^ "Russia's Black Sea Fleet Completes the First Stage of its Modernization". Naval News. 21 May 2020. Archived from the original on 20 October 2020. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
^ Barnes, Joe (22 September 2023). "Storm Shadow missile 'tears open' Black Sea Fleet HQ in Crimea". Telegraph. Archived from the original on 23 September 2023. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
^ Dooley, Matthew (23 September 2023). "Putin's top Black Sea Admiral 'killed' as Ukraine launches multi-pronged attack". Express.co.uk. Archived from the original on 23 September 2023. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
^ "Satellite images show Russian Black Sea Fleet damage after Kyiv's "success"". 30 March 2024. Archived from the original on 1 April 2024. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
^ Cite error: The named reference :3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[autogenerated1-1] "Шойгу: действия Минобороны РФ в Крыму были вызваны угрозой жизни мирного населения". itar-tass.com. Archived from the original on 1 December 2014. Retrieved 25 March 2018.

[2] Altman, Jonathan (Winter 2016). "Russian A2/AD in the Eastern Mediterranean: A Growing Risk". Naval War College Review. 69 (1). Newport, Rhode Island: U.S. Naval War College: 72. ISSN 0028-1484.

[3] "Russia's Black Sea Fleet Completes the First Stage of its Modernization". Naval News. 21 May 2020. Archived from the original on 20 October 2020. Retrieved 26 November 2020.

[telegraph.co.uk-4] Barnes, Joe (22 September 2023). "Storm Shadow missile 'tears open' Black Sea Fleet HQ in Crimea". Telegraph. Archived from the original on 23 September 2023. Retrieved 23 September 2023.

[Dooley-5] Dooley, Matthew (23 September 2023). "Putin's top Black Sea Admiral 'killed' as Ukraine launches multi-pronged attack". Express.co.uk. Archived from the original on 23 September 2023. Retrieved 23 September 2023.

[nw1-6] "Satellite images show Russian Black Sea Fleet damage after Kyiv's "success"". 30 March 2024. Archived from the original on 1 April 2024. Retrieved 1 April 2024.

[:3-7] Cite error: The named reference :3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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