Articles

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The Duration of Artificial Delays of Vessels in the Kerch Strait. The Monitoring for November 2021

12 December 2021
From December 2018 to December 2020, due to the threat of the "Azov package" of international sanctions against Russian ports on the Sea of Azov, there was a slight decrease in the average duration of artificial delays of ships at the exit from the Sea of Azov to the Black Sea: in 2018 − 79.5 hours; in 2019 − up to 37.4 hours; in 2020 − 29.6 hours per vessel. However, over the first 11 months of 2021, this figure has increased significantly to 39.4 hours per vessel and already exceeded those for 2019 and 2020...
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Maritime Security of Ukraine. A Reference Work. (5) Ukraine's Maritime Borders With the Russian Federation

12 December 2021
On 7 December 2021, the interdepartmental working group of the National Security and Defenсe Council of Ukraine completed work on the draft Maritime Security Strategy of Ukraine. The strategy was developed taking into account the proposals that had been repeatedly covered by BlackSeaNews. Therefore, the editors have decided to create a concise and clear reference work based on the contributions from our authors, which looks at the terminology and problems related to maritime security and provides expert explanations.
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Maritime Security of Ukraine. A Reference Work. (4) Ukraine's Maritime Borders With Turkey and Romania

11 December 2021
On 7 December 2021, the interdepartmental working group of the National Security and Defenсe Council of Ukraine completed work on the draft Maritime Security Strategy of Ukraine. The strategy was developed taking into account the proposals that had been repeatedly covered by BlackSeaNews. Therefore, the editors have decided to create a concise and clear reference work based on the contributions from our authors, which looks at the terminology and problems related to maritime security and provides expert explanations.
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Maritime Security of Ukraine. A Reference Work. (3) The Exclusive Economic Zone and the Continental Shelf

10 December 2021
On 7 December 2021, the interdepartmental working group of the National Security and Defenсe Council of Ukraine completed work on the draft Maritime Security Strategy of Ukraine. The strategy was developed taking into account the proposals that had been repeatedly covered by BlackSeaNews. Therefore, the editors have decided to create a concise and clear reference work based on the contributions from our authors, which looks at the terminology and problems related to maritime security and provides expert explanations.
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Maritime Security of Ukraine. A Reference Work. (2) The Contiguous Zone

09 December 2021
On 7 December 2021, the interdepartmental working group of the National Security and Defenсe Council of Ukraine completed work on the draft Maritime Security Strategy of Ukraine. The strategy was developed taking into account the proposals that had been repeatedly covered by BlackSeaNews. Therefore, the editors have decided to create a concise and clear reference work based on the contributions from our authors, which looks at the terminology and problems related to maritime security and provides expert explanations.
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Maritime Security of Ukraine. A Reference Work. (1) The State Border of Ukraine at Sea

08 December 2021
On 7 December 2021, the interdepartmental working group of the National Security and Defenсe Council of Ukraine completed work on the draft Maritime Security Strategy of Ukraine. The strategy was developed taking into account the proposals that had been repeatedly covered by BlackSeaNews. Therefore, the editors have decided to create a concise and clear reference work based on the contributions from our authors, which looks at the terminology and problems related to maritime security and provides expert explanations.
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Occupied Crimea. Exports and Imports / 2014-2021

23 November 2021
In 2013, foreign exports from the Crimean Peninsula amounted to 904.9 million dollars, and foreign imports totalled 1.044 billion dollars; Sevastopol’s exports and imports were valued at 99.8 million dollars and 106.9 million dollars, respectively. Thus, in 2020, exports from Crimea decreased by 26.7 times in dollar terms compared to 2013, the last pre-war year, and exports from Sevastopol dropped by 21,2 times. The decline in imports over the same period was by 25.4 times in Crimea and by 21.4 times in Sevastopol.
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Water in Occupied Crimea / 2014-2021

23 November 2021
Russia's decision to finally renovate the water supply networks on the occupied peninsula was also a consequence of the fact that in early 2021, Ukraine, for the first time at the level of state documents, recorded its position on restoring water supply to Crimea through the North Crimean Canal. At the same time, the risks of a possible military special operation of the Russian Federation on the territory of the Kherson region, where the North Crimean Canal begins, remain.
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The Crimean Budget. Small Business. Salaries and Pensions / 2014-2021

23 November 2021
After 2015, it became clear that the regime of international sanctions and the blockade of the occupied peninsula by mainland Ukraine made not only the economic development but also financial self-sufficiency of Crimea and Sevastopol impossible. Since then, the analysis of the budgets of Sevastopol and "the Republic of Crimea" has lost its economic sense. The basis and, at the same time, the main intrigue of the annual budgeting in Crimea are the same – the size of the subsidies from the Russian Federation.
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The "Trophy Economy". The Commercial Exploitation of Marine Biological Resources in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov / 2014–2021

23 November 2021
In recent years, Russia has stopped publishing data on the actual "Crimean landings," but we can easily estimate the scale of the occupiers' acquisitions in this area. Upon comparing Russian landings of certain species of commercial fish only in the Black Sea, we can see that in five years , the landings of the sprat increased 3.9 times compared to those of the last five pre-war years, the landings of the turbot – grew 9.2 times, and of the horse mackerel – rose 20 times.
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The Banking System of Crimea: What is Really Happening on the Occupied Peninsula (Updated)

22 November 2021
The Monitoring Group of BlackSeaNews and the Black Sea Institute of Strategic Studies presents an updated report on the state of the banking system of occupied Crimea. Today, only 5 operating banks of the Russian Federation remain on the peninsula. However, Russia's activity on the occupied territory requires the improvement of sanctions policy and monitoring tools.
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The "Trophy Economy". Militarization as a Factor of Industrial Growth / 2014-2021

21 November 2021
The growth of industrial production in occupied Crimea was achieved due to the provision of Crimean enterprises with military orders. However, in the conditions of international sanctions and competition from the Russian military-industrial complex for state orders, in the coming years, the Crimean shipyards are unlikely to lay down new ships. They will be completing the vessels already laid down at the Zaliv Shipyard: first of all, the helicopter-carrying amphibious assault ships. Ship repair will become the main activity of other Crimean shipyards, which will lead to an increased workload of the plants in Sevastopol
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Back in the USSR. The Reverse Restructuring of the Crimean Economy / 2014-2021

21 November 2021
As of November 2021, the following main conclusions can be made about the reverse restructuring of the Crimean economy: the programme of rearmament of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation with the newest missile ships, which had priority over other Russian fleets, is mostly coming to an end; the formation of a military-industrial base on the Crimean Peninsula to serve the needs of the occupying force of Russian troops is almost completed.
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The "Trophy Economy". The Development of the Stolen Ukrainian Black Sea Shelf / 2014-2021

20 November 2021
During 2014-2021, in violation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, Russia has illegally extracted hydrocarbons in the waters of the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea near occupied Crimea. There are two proceedings on these issues currently underway in international courts. The only thing that can be considered a notable "achievement" in the Russian development of the Ukrainian shelf is the creation of mini-military bases on the oil platforms. In 2021, due to international sanctions banning the export of equipment for offshore gas production to Russia, the gas output has decreased to the level of 2012.
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The Occupied Crimean Tourism / 2014-2021

20 November 2021
As a result of the occupation and ensuing militarization of Crimea, tourism has ceased to be a priority industry of the Crimean economy in terms of budget and investment. Official estimates of the tourist flow to the peninsula are propagandistic and inflated by 2-3 times. The real size of the tourist flow to occupied Crimea is 2.5 million people, which is 1.6 times less than the estimated number of tourists before the occupation (4 million) and 3.2 times less than in Soviet times (8 million people)