The siege of Southern Naval Base lasted from 3 March 2014 until its definitive capture on 27 March 2014. The action began with the blockade of

Donuzlav Lake Donuzlav ( rus, Донузлав) also referred to as Donuzlav Bay is the deepest lakeOliferov, A.M. Donuzlav (ДОНУЗЛА́В)'. Encyclopedia of Modern Ukraine. of Crimea () and biggest in Chornomorske Raion (). It is a protected landsc ...

bay by the Russian missile cruiser ''Moskva''. The Russian Navy later scuttled the Russian anti-submarine ship ''Ochakov'' and several smaller vessels in the mouth of the bay to prevent Ukrainian ships from sailing to open sea and reaching the Ukrainian fleet in Odessa. As a result, 13 Ukrainian ships were bottled up and eventually captured in Donuzlav bay. The blockade ended when the Russian Navy seized the last ship under the Ukrainian flag in Crimea, the minesweeper ''Cherkasy''.

Military base

In 1961 a 200-meter canal was built, linking Donuzlav bay to the settlement of

Novoozerne Novoozerne ( uk, Новоозерне; russian: Новоозёрное, translit=Novoozyornoye; crh, Novoozörnoye) is an urban-type settlement in the Yevpatoria municipality of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, a territory recognized by a majo ...

. Since then, the region's economy has benefited from the Southern Naval Base. After the separation of the Black Sea Fleet, the base passed under the control of Ukraine. The Southern Naval Base of Ukraine was created. Joint exercises between

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

and Ukraine, "Operation Sea Breeze", took place at Donuzlav, which drew disapproval from Russia, as well as the pro-Russian forces of the peninsula. At the beginning of the blockade, the following military units and naval units of Ukraine were moored in Novoozerne: 257 combined armaments and assets (air force A4290), a naval intelligence station (A / 343 military unit), the Southern Naval Base Ukraine (air force A2506) and 21 districts of the coastal surveillance system (airborne A4249). Also, in the Donuzlav area in the village Mirny is an abandoned naval air station, home of

Be-12 The Beriev Be-12 ''Chayka'' ("Seagull", NATO reporting name: Mail) is a Soviet turboprop-powered amphibious aircraft designed in the 1950s for anti-submarine and maritime patrol duties. Design and development The Beriev Be-12 was a successor to ...

flying boats and

Ka-25 The Kamov Ka-25 (NATO reporting name "Hormone") is a naval helicopter, developed for the Soviet Navy in the USSR from 1958. Design and development In the late 1950s there was an urgent demand for anti-submarine helicopters for deployment on ne ...

and

Ka-27 The Kamov Ka-27 ( NATO reporting name 'Helix') is a military helicopter developed for the Soviet Navy, and currently in service in various countries including Russia, Ukraine, Vietnam, China, South Korea, and India. Variants include the Ka-2 ...

helicopters, all of them designed for

anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are t ...

. As of March 2014, the ships of five brigades of surface ships of the Naval Forces were based in Novoozerne: * Corvette ''Vinnytsia'' (U206); (Returned) * Minesweeper ''Chernihiv'' (U310); * Minesweeper ''Cherkasy'' (U311); * Minesweeper ''Henichesk'' (U360); (Returned) * Middle landing ship ''Kirovohrad'' (U401);( Returned) * Large landing ship ''Konstantin Olshansky'' (U402); * Transport ''Gorlovka'' (U753); (Returned) * Anti-diversion boat ''Theodosius'' (U240); * Torpedo cutter ''Kherson'' (U891); * Boat ''Dobropillia'' (U854). In the structure of eight separate divisions of the ships were the provision of: * Fire rescue vessel ''Evpatoria'' (U728); (Returned) * Seagoing tug ''Kovel'' (U831); (Returned) * Towboat ''Novoozernoe'' (U942); (Returned)

Background

From 23 to 27 February, the executive power of

Sevastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...

and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea changed. The new Crimean authorities have declared illegitimacy of the authorities of Ukraine and appealed for help to the leadership of Russia, which gave its support. Since February 27, the actions of numerous armed groups have been unfolding on the territory of the Crimea - some of these armed groups were self-defense detachments from local residents, Berkuvtsev, Cossacks and representatives of various Russian public organizations who came to Crimea on their own initiative to "protect their compatriots". On the other hand - a group of well-armed and equipped men in uniform without identifying signs. Until the end of the Crimean crisis, these formations provided control over strategic objects and local authorities, their protection and functioning, and blocked Ukrainian military units and headquarters. The Ukrainian and Western media, the Ukrainian authorities and the leadership of the Western powers from the very first days said with certainty that they were Russian forces, qualifying their actions as aggression, military invasion and occupation. Russian officials until April 2014 refused to publicly admit this. On March 1, after receiving an appeal from the Government of Crimea and

Viktor Yanukovych Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych ( uk, Віктор Федорович Янукович, ; ; born 9 July 1950) is a former politician who served as the fourth president of Ukraine from 2010 until he was removed from office in the Revolution of D ...

, Russian President

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

appealed to the

Federation Council The Federation Council (russian: Сове́т Федера́ции – ''Soviet Federatsii'', common abbreviation: Совфед – ''Sovfed''), or Senate (officially, starting from July 1, 2020) ( ru , Сенат , translit = Senat), is th ...

on the use of Russian troops on the territory of Ukraine. The same day, the Federation Council, having gathered for an extraordinary meeting, agreed to use Russian troops in Ukraine. Also on March 1, 2014 a decree of President of Ukraine

Oleksandr Turchynov Oleksandr Valentynovych Turchynov ( uk, Олександр Валентинович Турчинов; born 31 March 1964) is a Ukrainian politician, screenwriter, Baptist minister and economist. He is the former Secretary of the National S ...

appointed

Denis Berezovsky Denis Valentinovich Berezovsky ( ua, Денис Валентинович Березовський, russian: Дени́с Валенти́нович Березо́вский; born 15 July 1974) is a rear admiral and the Russian Black Sea Fleet d ...

commander of the Naval Forces of Ukraine. The next day, he swore an oath to the new leadership of Crimea and was appointed Commander of the Navy of Crimea. That same day he was removed from office by a decision of Defense Minister of Ukraine

Ihor Tenyukh Ihor Yosypovych Tenyukh ( uk, Ігор Йосипович Тенюх; born 23 May 1958) is a former Ukrainian admiral and member of the nationalist Svoboda political party. He was the commander of the Ukrainian Navy from 2006 until 2010 when di ...

and decree by President of Ukraine. Instead of Berezovsky, commander

Serhiy Hayduk Serhiy Anatoliyovych Hayduk ( ua, Сергій Анатолійович Гайдук; born 25 July 1963) is a Ukrainian Vice Admiral and a former commander of the Ukrainian Navy.Igor Tenyukh, at the moment of the blockade, only four ships remained in quasi-combatant capacity, including the large landing ship ''Konstantin Olshansky'', which was based in Donuzov. Over the question why Ukrainian ships were not withdrawn from Crimea at the end of February 2014, Tenyukh accused the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,

Yuriy Ilyin Yuriy Ivanovych Ilyin ( uk, Юрій Іванович Ільїн; ; ; born 21 August 1962) is a Ukrainian admiral and former commander of the Ukrainian Navy. He was elevated to the position of Chief of the General Staff by President Viktor Yanuk ...

, who, according to him did not issue an order. However, Ilyin himself accused Tenyukh of the absence of such an order. On March 2, 2014, four KamAZ trucks full of armed people arrived in Novoazerne. On March 3 information appeared on the blocking of the Southern Naval Base of Ukraine by military servicemen of the Russian Federation. The 200-meter-long exit from the Donuzlav bay was blocked by the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet of Russia, missile cruiser ''Moskva'', supported by four other ships. On land, the Ukrainian base was surrounded by about 100 Russian servicemen. At the same time, Ukrainian Navy's ships were ordered to take off from the pier and gather in Donuzlav bay. The commander of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation,

Aleksandr Vitko Admiral Aleksandr Viktorovich Vitko (russian: Александр Викторович Витко; born September 13, 1961) is a retired officer of the Russian Navy, and a former commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet between April 2013 and ...

, personally came to negotiations with the command of the part, during which he offered to surrender and oath to the Crimean people, but he was denied. Denied and in execution of the order of Denis Berezovsky - the ships retired to the berth and handed over the weapons to the warehouses. On the morning of March 4 Crimean Prime Minister

Sergei Aksyonov Sergey Valeryevich Aksyonov (russian: Сергей Валерьевич Аксёнов, uk, Сергій Валерійович Аксьонов, ro, Serghei Valerievici Aksionov; born 26 November 1972) is a Russian politician serving, since ...

said that the personnel of the Ukrainian military units were ready to submit to the new government of Crimea and that commanders who refused to do his bidding would be prosecuted. Чернигов (U310)

On March 4, armed people without identification marks began to dig trenches near the berth. On March 5, Donuzlav blocked the exit of ships SFP-183, ''Moskow'', ''Shtel'' and ''Lightning''. In order to prevent the release of Ukrainian ships to Odessa on the night of March 5 to 6, 2014, the light cruiser ''

Ochakov Ochakiv, also known as Ochakov ( uk, Оча́ків, ; russian: Очаков; crh, Özü; ro, Oceacov and ''Vozia'', and Alektor ( in Greek), is a small city in Mykolaiv Raion, Mykolaiv Oblast (region) of southern Ukraine. It hosts the adminis ...

'' (length about 180 meters) and the rescue ship ''Shakhty'', both of them belonging to the Russian Federation, were scuttled at the exit from Donuzlav. ''Ochakov'' obstructed the mouth of the bay. The sinking of ''Ochakov'' took about 80 minutes. In connection with the blockade of Ukrainian ships in Donuzlav, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine strongly protested to the Russian Federation. On March 7, fire-fighting boat BM-416 was also sunk as an obstacle; it had a displacement of 30-40 tons. On March 13, in response to the intentional sinking of a fourth ship at the mouth of the bay, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine handed a verbal note to Russia over the scuttled ships and the threat to environmental safety in the Black Sea. Director of the Information Policy Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Yevhen Perebyinis stated that the responsibility for damage to the marine environment and natural resources rested on the Russian side. Also, on March 13, farmers from the Rivne region delivered about 25 tons of food to the Ukriainian sailors. Base commander Vladimir Dogonov said that there was a lot of assistance to the naval base, to the point that they shared it with neighboring military units. With the assistance of the Red Cross, residents of

Kropyvnytskyi Kropyvnytskyi ( uk, Кропивницький, Kropyvnytskyi ) is a city in central Ukraine on the Inhul river with a population of . It is an administrative center of the Kirovohrad Oblast. Over its history, Kropyvnytskyi has changed its nam ...

and

Novomyrhorod Novomyrhorod ( uk, Новомиргород; ro, Novomîrhorod; russian: Новоми́ргород) is a city in Novoukrainka Raion, Kirovohrad Oblast (region) of central Ukraine, in the southern part of the Middle Dnieper area. It hosts the ad ...

were able to pass along the aid. Yuri Fedash, commander of the minesweeper ''Cherkasy'', said that Crimean Tatars from the neighboring villages of Medvedev and Kirovske also provided assistance. Following a referendum on the Crimea status on March 16, the seamen requested a clear plan from the Ukrainian leadership for further action on the evacuation of servicemen and their families from Donuzlav. However, the acting president of Ukraine, Oleksandr Turchynov, said that the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff issued orders to protect the ships. Turchynov also stressed the need to withstand and prevent further Russian invasion of Ukraine. Volodymyr Komoedov, deputy of the State Duma of Russia and former commander of the Black Sea Fleet, said that Ukrainian vessels that were in the Crimea would become Russian after the referendum. On March 19, 2014, the headquarters of the Southern Naval Base of Ukraine went under the control of the Russian Federation. The headquarters gates near the checkpoint were demolished by a bulldozer. Russian military vehicles blocked the road to the barracks. After that, the ships ''Vinnitsa'', ''Konstantin Olshansky'', ''Kirovograd'', ''Cherkassy'' and ''Chernigov'' sailed to the middle of Donuzlav to prevent capture. On March 20, Vitaliy Zvyagintsev, commander of the five brigades of the surface ships of the Naval Forces of Ukraine, who crossed Russia, ordered all ships to berth. On March 21, three machine gun points were deployed on the shore, and the berth was occupied by Russian military personnel. On the same day, the ships ''Kirovograd'', ''Theodosius'' and ''Chernigov'' approached the berth and surrendered. The commander of ''Kirovgrad'', Captain of the 3rd rank Volodymyr Khromchenkov, called the Shuster Live transmission live in the evening and told that the ships are waiting for an adequate order for their further fate, adding that the leadership is not connected with him. The next day, the commander contacted the head of the Presidential Administration Serhiy Pashynskyi. Later, the commander of ''Kirovograd,'' Volodymyr Khromchenkov, the commander of ''Theodosius,'' O. Bily and the commander of ''Chernigov,'' Boris Paliy defected to the Russian side. On March 21, the minesweeper Cherkasy made the first attempt to break through Donuzlav. ''Cherkasy'' was hit by mooring cables from one of the scuttled ships and tried to . The operation lasted about two hours, but the miner was not able to do it because of a lack of power. The commander of the ship Yuri Fedash asked for help from the minesweeper ''Chernigov'', but he was denied. On this day, two officers, one midshipman and nine people came out from ''Cherkassy''. Converserly, three sailors from the minesweeper ''Chernigov'' climbed onboard. On March 22, the corvette V''innitsa'', raised the Andriyivsky flag, and the commander Sergei Zagolnikov eventually turned to Russia. On the same day, Sergei Gaiduk said that food supplies on ships that are in Donuzlav are left for 10 days. On March 23, the minesweeper ''Henichesk'' attempted to exit Donuzlav, however, it was intercepted by a tug of the Black Sea Fleet of Russia. On the same day, Yuri Fedash, commander of the ''Cherkasy'', said to a reporter that he was in contact with the Ukrainian Navy headquarters. On the night of March 24, another small vessel was scuttled by the Russian Navy at the bay. Later, the ''Konstantin Olshansky'' laid smokescreens, but was still captured by the Russian boat U8301 using automatic weapons and small grenades. The minesweeper ''Henichesk'' was captured on the same date. Captain Dmitry Kovalenko, commander of the ''Konstantin Olshansky'' said that the issue of scuttling his ship never was on the table. At the time of capture of the ship was crewed by only 20 seamen from an usual complement of 120. The U8301 launched about 400 grenades around ''Konstantin Olshansky'' before the amphibious ship was assaulted by a boarding party. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine called the seizure of the ships by Russia "piracy". The trawler ''Cherkasy'' made an attempt to leave Donuzlav, passing between the wrecks of two ships. As a result, the trawler was intercepted by a tug, from which there were attempts to board the minesweeper. According to Fedash, he considered the possibility of capturing the Russian vessel, but the leadership in Kiev refused. He also said that in order to prevent the seizure of ''Cherkasy'', they fired small arms on the water and used grenades. Also on March 24 President of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchinov said that the Ministry of Defense was given an order to withdraw military units from the Crimea. On March 25, an unknown boat traveled around the minesweeper ''Cherkasy'', the last Ukrainian ship in Crimea. ''Cherkasy'' was eventually captured by the ocean-going tug ''Kovel'', three speedboats, and two

Mi-35 The Soviet and later Russian Mil Mi-24 helicopter has been produced in many variants, as described below. History In 1966, Soviet aircraft designer Mikhail Mil created a mock-up design of a new helicopter (derived from the Mil Mi-8) which was ...

helicopters. The ship maneuvered for at least two hours, but was eventually stormed using firearms and light-and-noise grenades. According to Fedash,

Spetsnaz Spetsnaz are special forces in numerous post-Soviet states. (The term is borrowed from rus, спецназ, p=spʲɪtsˈnas; abbreviation for or 'Special Purpose Military Units'; or .) Historically, the term ''spetsnaz'' referred to the S ...

forces from the 16th Brigade participated in the capture of ''Cherkasy''. During the assault there were no casualties, but control mechanisms of the ship were damaged by the Russian forces. As a result, the tug ''Kovel'' towed ''Cherkasy'' to a harbor berth. The next day the crew went to the coast and traveled to the mainland Ukraine, the last to left the ship was commander Yuri Fedash, after which the Ukrainian flag was removed from the minesweeper.

Return of captured ships

Following the capture of Ukrainian ships, Alexander Turchinov instructed the Defense Minister of Ukraine

Mykhailo Koval Mykhailo Koval ( uk, Михайло Володимирович Коваль; 26 February 1956) is a Colonel General of Ukraine who until 2014 worked in the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine. During the 2014 Crimea crisis he was appointed a ...

that "no warships should remain in captivity". On April 19, 2014, the ships ''Kirovograd'', ''Vinnytsia'', ''Kherson'', ''Kovel'', ''Gorlovka'' and ''Novoozernye'' were returned to Ukraine and relocated to Odessa. The transfer took place in neutral waters, to which the ships were towed by the Russian side, after which the Ukrainian flags were again raised on the ships. In May the minesweeper ''Genichesk'' and passenger boat ''Dobropillya'' were transferred to Ukraine. As of June 2015, the ships ''Chernihiv'', ''Cherkasy'' and ''Konstantin Olshansky'' had not been returned to Ukraine.

Memorials

Russian side

On August 8, 2014, in

, the head of the State Council of the Crimea, Volodymyr Konstantinov, dedicated a memorial plaque to the scuttled ships that blocked the exit of the naval ships of the Naval Forces of Ukraine. On the memorial plaque it is written: In memory of the ships that were intentionally sunk in March 2014 for the reunification of the Crimea with Russia.

Ukrainian side

On March 27, 2014, the commander of the minesweeper ''Cherkasy,'' Yury Fedash, was awarded the title of honorary citizen of the city of

Cherkasy Cherkasy ( uk, Черка́си, ) is a city in central Ukraine. Cherkasy is the capital of Cherkasy Oblast ( province), as well as the administrative center of Cherkasky Raion (district) within the oblast. The city has a population of C ...

, and on August 24 the Order of Danylo Halytsky was presented. On April 4, congratulations were received by the crew of the minesweeper ''Cherkasy'' in the center of the city of the same name, where they were greeted as heroes. In April 2014, the members of the rock band

Lyapis Trubetskoy Lyapis Trubetskoy (russian: Ляпис Трубецкой, be, Ляпіс Трубяцкі) was a Belarusian rock band. It was named after comical hero from Ilya Ilf's and Yevgeny Petrov's novel "The Twelve Chairs", poet and potboiler Nikifor Ly ...

invited the crewmembers of the ''Konstantin Olshansky'' to their concert in Odessa and called the Ukrainian sailors in Donuzlav "heroes". They also noted a video clip that was shot on a ship, where sailors perform the song "Warriors of the World". However, it is erroneously believed that the video was taken on the Cherkasy minesweeper. On April 6, 2014, before the match between

Dynamo Kyiv Football Club Dynamo Kyiv (, ) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Dynamo Sports Society, the club as a separate business entity was officia ...

and Kharkiv Metalist within the framework of the Ukrainian Championship, seamen from Kirovograd were invited to the stadium Olimpiysky, where they were received as heroes. On August 24, 2014, during a military parade on the occasion of the Independence Day of Ukraine, the President of Ukraine,

Petro Poroshenko Petro Oleksiyovych Poroshenko ( uk, Петро́ Олексі́йович Пороше́нко, ; born 26 September 1965) is a Ukrainian businessman and politician who served as the fifth president of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019. Poroshenko se ...

, said: "Ukraine will never forget the actions of the crew of the minesweeper ''Cherkasy'', which recently maneuvered and defended their ship in the Donuzlav bay".

References

{{2014 Crimean crisis Southern Naval Base Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation 2014 in Ukraine History of Crimea Southern Naval Base Southern Naval Base Naval battles involving Russia Naval battles post-1945 Battles and conflicts without fatalities