The Agreement between Ukraine and Russia on the Black Sea Fleet in Ukraine, widely referred to as the Kharkiv Pact () or Kharkov Accords (), was a treaty between Ukraine and Russia whereby the Russian lease on naval facilities in

Crimea 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 Ukrain ...

was extended beyond 2017 until 2042, with an additional five-year renewal option in exchange for a multiyear discounted contract to provide Ukraine with Russian

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 ...

. The agreement, signed on 21 April 2010 in

Kharkiv Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

, Ukraine, by Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and Russian President

Dmitry Medvedev Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev (born 14 September 1965) is a Russian politician and lawyer who has served as Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia since 2020. Medvedev was also President of Russia between 2008 and 2012 and Prime Mini ...

and ratified by the parliaments of the two countries on 27 April 2010, aroused much controversy in Ukraine. The treaty was effectively a continuation of the lease provisions that were part of the 1997 Black Sea Fleet Partition Treaty between the two states. Shortly after 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 March 2014,Ukraine: Speaker Oleksandr Turchynov named interim president

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(23 February 2014)Ukraine protests timeline

(23 February 2014) Russia unilaterally terminated the treaty on 31 March 2014.

History

In 1997, Russia and Ukraine agreed to end the dispute over the former Soviet Black Sea Fleet by signing the Partition Treaty, establishing two independent national fleets and dividing armaments and bases between them. Ukraine also agreed to lease major parts of its new bases in Sevastopol to the Russian

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 ...

until 2017. During the presidency of Victor Yushchenko (January 2005 – February 2010) the Ukrainian government declared that the lease would not be extended and that the fleet would have to leave Sevastopol by 2017. Amid several Russia–Ukraine gas disputes, including a halt of natural gas supplies to European countries, the price that Ukraine had to pay for Russian natural gas was raised in 2006 and in 2009.

Negotiation

The

Prime Minister of Ukraine The prime minister of Ukraine (, , ) is the head of government of Ukraine. The prime minister presides over the government of Ukraine, Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, which is the highest body of the executive branch of the government of Ukrain ...

, Mykola Azarov, and the Energy Minister, Yuriy Boyko, visited Moscow in late March 2010 to negotiate lower gas prices; neither clearly explained what Ukraine was prepared to offer in return. Following these talks Russian Prime Minister

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

stated that Russia was prepared to discuss the revision of the price for

it sells to Ukraine. Mid-April Ukrainian officials stated they are seeking an average price of $240–$260 per 1000 cubic metres for 2010. Ukraine paid an average of $305 in the first quarter of 2010 and $330 in the second quarter. On 21 April 2010, Russian President

and Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych signed an agreement in which Russia agreed to a 30% drop in the price of

sold to Ukraine. Russia agreed to this in exchange for permission to extend Russia's lease of a major naval base in the Ukrainian

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

port of Sevastopol for an additional 25 years (to 2042) with an option for a further 5-year renewal (to 2047). The agreement put a cap on the scale of price hikes; but the main unfavourable terms for Ukraine of the 2009 gas contract remained in place. "We have indeed reached an unprecedented agreement," the Russian president stated. "The rent or the naval basewill be increased by an amount equivalent to that of the as pricediscount."

Ratification and voting

The agreement was subject to approval by both the Russian and Ukrainian parliaments. Both parliaments ratified the agreement on 27 April 2010. Ratification in the Ukrainian parliament proved controversial, and several disturbances occurred during the process. In one incident, several eggs were thrown towards the speaker, Volodymyr Lytvyn, by deputies.

Voting

During a contentious voting session, half of the deputies (legislators) belonging to the ruling

Party of Regions A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature ...

(PR) were out of their seats blocking the podium. 160 members of PR, including Rinat Akhmetov, who was not present in the session hall voted in favor of ratification. Among the opposition parties, the ratification was approved by nine members of BYuT and seven from Our Ukraine. All 27 members of the

Communist Party of Ukraine The Communist Party of Ukraine (CPU or KPU) is a banned political party in Ukraine. It was founded in 1993 and claimed to be the successor to the Soviet-era Communist Party of Ukraine, which had been banned in 1991. In 2002 it held a "unifi ...

and the 20 members of the Lytvyn Bloc voted for the Kharkiv Pact as well. Of those who did not belong to a faction, only Taras Chornovil, Oleksandr Fomin, and Ihor Rybakov did not support the agreement. ;Results

Termination of the treaty by Russia

On 28 March 2014, one week after the annexation of Crimea by Russia Russian President

submitted proposals to the

State Duma The State Duma is the lower house of the Federal Assembly (Russia), Federal Assembly of Russia, with the upper house being the Federation Council (Russia), Federation Council. It was established by the Constitution of Russia, Constitution of t ...

on the termination of the legal effect of a number of Russian-Ukrainian agreements, including the 2010 Kharkiv Pact treaty and the '' Partition Treaty on the Status and Conditions of the Black Sea Fleet''.Putin submits proposals on denouncing some Russia-Ukraine agreements on Black Sea Fleet
ITAR-TASS (29 March 2014) The State Duma unanimously approved the unilateral dissolution of these Russian-Ukrainian agreements with 433 members of parliament voting on 31 March 2014.State Duma approves denunciation of Russian-Ukrainian agreements on Black Sea Fleet
ITAR-TASS (31 March 2014)

Criticism

Taras Kuzio, a British-born expert on Ukrainian politics, criticized the treaty. He stated that the bill was forced through Ukraine's legislature without parliamentary debate or public discourse, and after ignoring votes against it within three important committees (two of which had negative majorities). He argued that the treaty violates the

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

, which bans permanent military bases, and that it was not discussed prior to a vote in the National Security and Defense Council as required by the constitution. Kuzio said that the treaty is illegitimate because it rests on only 220 deputies from three factions; he argued that the remaining twenty-five deputies had been blackmailed, bribed or coerced to defect from the opposition. He added that Ukrainian public support was "gained by a lie" that the deal would bring cheaper Russian gas; while in fact, a new July 2010 agreement with the IMF mandated that Ukraine increase utility prices by fifty per cent on 1 August 2010 and another fifty per cent in April 2011.The Crimea: Europe's Next Flashpoint?
, by Taras Kuzio, November 2010 According to former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, the agreement violates part of Ukraine's constitution, which forbids the country from hosting foreign military bases after 2017. The Chairman of the Ukrainian Constitutional Court said on 23 April that only the President and the Cabinet of Ministers can request a court ruling on constitutionality. The Our Ukraine party subsequently called for the

impeachment Impeachment is a process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In Eur ...

of President Yanukovych for violating the Ukrainian Constitution. Opposition members in Ukraine and Russia expressed doubts that the agreement would be fulfilled by

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 ...

's side.Update: Ukraine, Russia ratify Black Sea naval lease
''Kyiv Post'' (27 April 2010) According to Yanukovych, the only way out of holding the state budget deficit down, as requested by the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...

, while protecting pensioners and minimal wages, was to extend the Russian Navy lease in Crimea in exchange for cheaper natural gas.Yanukovych snipes at opponent, defends fleet move
''Kyiv Post'' (13 May 2009) Opposition members in Ukraine described the agreement as a "sell out of national interests".

Boris Nemtsov Boris Yefimovich Nemtsov; (9 October 195927 February 2015) was a Russian physicist, liberalism in Russia, liberal politician, and outspoken critic of Vladimir Putin. Early in his political career, he was involved in the introduction of reform ...

, former leader of the

Union of Right Forces The Union of Right Forces (URF). was a Russian liberal-conservative political public organization and former party, initially founded as an electoral bloc in 1999 and associated with free market reforms, privatization, and the legacy of the "yo ...

, said that Russia needed the Black Sea fleet in Crimea for war with

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

and asked rhetorically if war with Georgia was worth $40 billion.

Effects

In June 2010, Ukraine paid

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around $234 per 1,000 cubic metres. However, Ukrainian consumers experienced a 50% increase in household natural gas utility prices in July 2010 (a key demand of the

in exchange for a $15 billion loan). Payments increased annually since then: in August 2011, Ukraine paid Russia $350 per 1,000 cubic metres;Ukraine seeks to cut imports of Russian gas
''Kyiv Post'' (30 August 2011) in November 2011, it paid $400 per 1,000 cubic meters; and in January 2013, it paid $430 per 1,000 cubic metres.Ukraine set to sign landmark $10 billion shale gas deal with Shell

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(24 January 2013)Shell for shale: Ukraine signs major deal
, Euronews (25 January 2013)Ukraine signs landmark $10 bln shale gas deal with Shell

(24 January 2013) In August 2011, Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov stated that Ukraine seeks to reduce imports of Russian natural gas by two-thirds (compared with 2010) by 2016. The treaty allowed Russia to station a limited number of troops in Crimea, 25,000 maximum.

Criminal cases against Yanukovych and ministers

In summer of 2014, the General Prosecutor of Ukraine opened a criminal case against Viktor Yanukovych on several charges following an investigation into the former president's signing of the Kharkiv Accords.GPU opened a case on Yanukovych for the Kharkiv treaty
LB. 21 October 2014 In July 2022, Ukrainian law enforcement stated that former Foreign Minister Konstiantyn Hryshchenko and former Justice Minister Oleksandr Lavrynovych were under suspicion of high treason for signing the agreement. The suspicions were filed in absentia, as the two were "hiding abroad".

References

External links

*
Text of the agreement
rada.gov.ua 2010-04-27
Text of the agreement
Ukrayinska Pravda (22 April 2010)
The show of the century
Ukrayinska Pravda (27 April 2010) (Videos/Photos) {{DEFAULTSORT:Kharkiv treaty 2010 in Ukraine Treaties concluded in 2010 Treaties entered into force in 2010 Treaties of Ukraine Treaties of Russia Russia–Ukraine relations Russia–Ukraine gas disputes Verkhovna Rada Military installations of Russia 2010 in international relations Political scandals in Ukraine Kharkiv in the Russo-Ukrainian War Events affected by annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation April 2010 in Europe Viktor Yanukovych Dmitry Medvedev April 2010 in Ukraine