The Russia–Ukraine border is the international boundary between

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and

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 ...

. Over land, the border spans five Russian

oblasts An oblast ( or ) is a type of administrative division in Bulgaria and several post-Soviet states, including Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. Historically, it was used in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. The term ''oblast'' is often translated i ...

and five Ukrainian oblasts. Due to the ongoing

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...

, which began in early 2014, the border between Russia and Ukraine is different from the legal border recognized by the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

. , Russia is militarily occupying a significant portion of Ukraine, and Ukraine is militarily occupying a very small portion of Russia. According to a 2016 statement by Viktor Nazarenko, the head of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, the Ukrainian government did not have control over of the international border with Russia.State border service, OSCE draft plan to return control over border with Russia if Minsk accords fulfilled
,

Interfax-Ukraine Interfax-Ukraine () is a Ukrainian news agency. Founded in 1992, the company publishes in Ukrainian, Russian, English and German. The company owns a 50-seat press centre. The staff of the agency is 105 people (as of the end of February 2022) ...

(13 August 2016). This stretch of land was formerly controlled by pro-Russian separatists under the

Donetsk People's Republic The Donetsk People's Republic (DPR; , ) is Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, occupied territory in Ukraine that the Russian Federation has claimed to annex and declared as a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia, comprising parts o ...

and the

Luhansk People's Republic The Luhansk People's Republic (LPR; , ) is a disputed territory administered as a republic of Russia in the occupied parts of eastern Ukraine's Luhansk Oblast, with its capital in Luhansk. The LPR was proclaimed by Russian-backed paramilitar ...

(see

War in Donbas The war in Donbas, or the Donbas war, was a phase of the Russo-Ukrainian War in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine. The war Timeline of the war in Donbas (2014), began in April 2014, when Russian separatist forces in Ukraine, Russian para ...

), both of which were annexed by Russia in September 2022, seven months after the beginning of the ongoing

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

.Watching Russia for Signs of Progress in Ukraine Negotiations

Stratfor Strategic Forecasting Inc., commonly known as Stratfor, is an American strategic intelligence publishing company founded in 1996. Stratfor's business model is to provide individual and enterprise subscriptions to Stratfor Worldview, its online p ...

, 4 April 2016. Ukraine has also not had authority over the

Kerch Strait The Kerch Strait is a strait in Eastern Europe. It connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, separating the Kerch Peninsula of Crimea in the west from the Taman Peninsula of Russia's Krasnodar Krai in the east. The strait is to wide and up ...

since 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea; the Ukrainian administration was pushed out of

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 ...

and Russian checkpoints were set up at the boundary with

Kherson Oblast Kherson Oblast (, ; ), also known as Khersonshchyna (, ), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in southern Ukraine. It is located just north of Crimea. Its administrative center is Kherson, on the northern or right bank ...

. In 2014, as the Ukrainian government lost Crimea and a portion of the

Donbas The Donbas (, ; ) or Donbass ( ) is a historical, cultural, and economic region in eastern Ukraine. The majority of the Donbas is occupied by Russia as a result of the Russo-Ukrainian War. The word ''Donbas'' is a portmanteau formed fr ...

to Russia and Russian-backed separatists, respectively, it unveiled a plan called " Project Wall" through which it sought to erect a fortified border barrier along the rest of the international border, with the goal of blocking any further Russian incursions into the country. It was estimated that the barrier would cost around and take four years to complete. Construction began in 2015,"As Ukraine Erects Defenses, Critics Fear Expensive Failure"
, ''

Moscow Times ''The Moscow Times'' (''MT'') is an Amsterdam-based independent English-language and Russian-language online newspaper. It was in print in Russia from 1992 until 2017 and was distributed free of charge at places frequented by English-speaking to ...

'', 6 May 2015. but was suspended due to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. On 1 January 2018, Ukraine introduced biometric controls for Russian citizens entering the country. On 22 March 2018, former Ukrainian president

Petro Poroshenko Petro Oleksiiovych Poroshenko (born 26 September 1965) is a Ukraine, Ukrainian politician and Oligarchy, oligarch who served as the fifth president of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019. He served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Ukraine), Minister ...

signed a decree into law that required all Russian visitors to inform Ukrainian authorities of their reason for travelling to Ukraine before their date of entry. On 7 November 2018, the

Criminal Code of Ukraine The legal system of Ukraine is based on civil law, and belongs to the Romano-Germanic legal tradition. The main source of legal information is codified law. Customary law and case law are not as common, though case law is often used in support ...

was amended to make illegal border crossings by Russians into Ukraine ("to harm the country's interest") punishable by imprisonment for up to three years.Poroshenko introduces criminal liability for illegal border crossing by Russians

UNIAN The Ukrainian Independent Information Agency of News () is a Kyiv-based Ukraine, Ukrainian news agency. It produces and provides political, business and financial information, and a photo reporting service. As of October 2022, it was the most v ...

(7 November 2018) Since 30 November 2018, Ukraine has banned all Russian males aged 16–60 from entering the country, albeit with room for exceptions on humanitarian grounds.Ukraine upholds entry restrictions for Russian men aged 16-60 years
,

Ukrinform The National News Agency of Ukraine (), or Ukrinform (), is a state information and news agency, and international broadcaster of Ukraine. It was founded in 1918 during the Ukrainian War of Independence Since 1 March 2020, Ukrainian citizens are required to use their "

international passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that certifies a person's Identity (social science), identity and nationality for international travel. A passport allows its bearer to enter and temporarily reside in a foreign ...

" when crossing the Ukrainian border to enter Russia, but can continue to use their "

internal passport An internal or domestic passport is a type of identity document issued in a passport-like booklet format. Internal passports may have a variety of uses including: # An ordinary identity document produced in a passport format (such as the modern ...

" when returning to Ukraine.Ukrainians to enter Russia on foreign passports from March 1, 2020
, 112 Ukraine (18 December 2019) Prior to this law, Ukraine allowed the "internal passport" to be used for travel to Russia. RIAN archive 305861 Hoptivka car border crossing

RIAN archive 305861 Hoptivka car border crossing

History before 1991

Under the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union

Black Sea relief location map with exclusive economic zones

The border has inherited its location from the administrative-territorial division between the

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...

and the

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

. The first real demarcation took place in May 1918 in

Kursk Kursk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur (Kursk Oblast), Kur, Tuskar, and Seym (river), Seym rivers. It has a population of Kursk ...

.''Regional history of Ukraine. Collection of scientific articles''. Vol.3. "Institute of History of Ukraine (NANU)". Kyiv, 2009 After the fall of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

, several factions sought to create an independent Ukrainian state, alternately cooperating and struggling against each other. Most of Ukraine (

Ukrainian People's Republic The Ukrainian People's Republic (UPR) was a short-lived state in Eastern Europe. Prior to its proclamation, the Central Council of Ukraine was elected in March 1917 Ukraine after the Russian Revolution, as a result of the February Revolution, ...

) was overrun by the Red Guards of

Soviet Russia The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

. With the help of the

Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,; ; , ; were one of the two main coalitions that fought in World War I (1914–1918). It consisted of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulga ...

, Ukraine managed to recover all its territories of "Ukrainian governorates" and also annexed a number of neighboring counties of Kursk and Voronezh governorates where the ethnic composition of the population was predominantly Ukrainophone (Ukrainian-speaking).Yefimenko, H.
About the border between Soviet Ukraine and the Bolshevik Russia, 1919

Ukrainska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' is a Ukrainian socio-political online media outlet founded by Heorhii Gongadze in April 2000. After Gongadze’s death in September 2000, the editorial team was led by co-founder Olena Prytula, who remained the editor-in ...

(Historic pravda). 10 March 2014 On 6 May 1918, a ceasefire agreement was signed in Konotop between Ukraine and Soviet Russia. Between the fighting sides a neutral territory between 10 and 40 km wide was established to prevent further aggression, but the Russian side decided to create guerrilla forces which were transformed into two "Ukrainian divisions" (see Nikolay Shchors). Peace talks started on 23 May 1918 in

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

, where the Russian delegation was headed by

Christian Rakovsky Christian Georgiyevich Rakovsky ( – September 11, 1941), Bulgarian name Krastyo Georgiev Rakovski, born Krastyo Georgiev Stanchov, was a Bulgarian-born socialist Professional revolutionaries, revolutionary, a Bolshevik politician and Soviet Un ...

and Dmitry Manuilsky, while the Ukrainian - by ( Ambassador of Ukraine to Russia). On June 12, 1918, the sides signed a preliminary peace treaty. Further negotiations stalled due to a lack of consensus on the issue of the borders. The Ukrainian side was proposing an ethnic principle based on the already established political, geographical, and economic aspects, while the Russian side insisted on conducting a plebiscite in each populated place. On 22 June 1918, both sides finally agreed to go along with the Ukrainian proposition, while any contested issues would be decided by plebiscite. Yet any further negotiations led nowhere and were terminated by the Ukrainian delegation in October 1918 as it was becoming apparent that the Russian was using their time more for the pro-Soviet propaganda.

Border with the anti-Bolshevik Don Republic

More productive were negotiations between the Don Republic and Ukraine that started soon after the Don Republic formed its government on 16 May 1918. The Don side was presented by the Minister of trade Vladimir Lebedev and the Ambassador of Don to Ukraine General Aleksandr Cheriachukin, while the Ukrainian side - by the

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

Dmytro Doroshenko. On 8 August 1918, the sides signed the treaty "About Basic Principles of Bilateral Relations", wherein each side agreed to renounce its territorial contests against the other, and borders were established based on the gubernatorial division of the Russian Empire. The Don-Ukraine border outlined the Oblast of Don Host to the west of the Don Republic and Yekaterinoslav, Kharkiv, Voronezh guberniyas to the east of Ukraine. To Ukraine also was ceded some territory of the right bank of the Kalmius river just east of

Mariupol Mariupol is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. It is situated on the northern coast (Pryazovia) of the Sea of Azov, at the mouth of the Kalmius, Kalmius River. Prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it was the tenth-largest city in the coun ...

"to ensure the proper administration of the city and port". On September 18, 1918, between Don and Ukraine the Don-Ukrainian Commission was created for the administration of the Taganrog Industrial District, based in

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

Second invasion by the Russian SFSR

After the second invasion of the Soviet troops during the

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

in 1919, the new Soviet government of Ukraine intended to retain all territorial gains of the Ukrainian national government (

Ukrainian State The Ukrainian State (), sometimes also called the Second Cossack Hetmanate, Hetmanate (), was an Anti-communism, anti-Bolshevik government that existed on most of the modern territory of Ukraine (except for Western Ukraine) from 29 April to 14 ...

). However, after several rounds of negotiations, the border between the "Ukrainian governorates" (Chernihiv and Kharkiv) and the "Russian governorates" (Bryansk and Kursk) was left intact. It also was agreed that Ukraine would border Crimea at the

Perekop Isthmus The Isthmus of Perekop, literally Isthmus of the Trench (; transliteration: ''Perekops'kyi pereshyiok''; ; transliteration: ''Perekopskiy peresheek,'' , ; ; transliteration: ''Taphros''), is the narrow, wide strip of land that connects the Cr ...

. On March 10, 1919, a border treaty was signed between the

and the

. On April 24, 1919, the

was stripped of four counties of the Chernihiv Governorate that on the unilateral decision of the

People's Commissariat of Foreign Affairs The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics () was founded on 6 July 1923. It had three names during its existence: People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs (1923–1946), Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1946–1991) ...

of the

were transferred to the newly created Gomel Governorate. On April 28, 1919, the Central Committee 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 ...

simply acknowledged it. Soviet Union Administrative Divisions 1989

After the USSR was formally created in 1922 and due to the onset of the administrative division reform, issues emerged. The Ukrainian government claimed mainly some parts of the Kursk and Voronezh gubernia, which were home to a Ukrainian-speaking population. As a result of the border dispute of the 1920s,

was granted approximately one-third of the claimed territories, while the Taganrog and Shakhty districts went back to the RSFSR. By 1927, the administrative border between the RSFSR and

was established.

1954 transfer of Crimea to Ukraine

In 1954,

First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union The General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. was the leader of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). From 1924 until the country's dissolution in 1991, the officeholder was the recognize ...

Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and the Premier of the Soviet Union, Chai ...

transferred the peninsula of

from the

to the

. This event was viewed as an insignificant "symbolic gesture", as both republics were a part of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and answerable to the government in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. Crimean autonomy was re-established after a referendum in 1991, 11 months prior to the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

History since 1991

In 1991,

as a new independent state inherited the territory and the boundaries of the former

. At the time the Russia–Ukraine border was an administrative line, which was not delimited nor demarcated.

has been trying to establish a proper border since.

Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances (1994)

The

Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances The Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances comprises four substantially identical political agreements signed at the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) in Budapest, Hungary, on 5 December 1994, to provide security assu ...

refers to three identical political agreements signed at the OSCE conference in Budapest, Hungary on 5 December 1994. Among other things, the Memorandum promised that its signatories (the Russian Federation, the United States of America, and the United Kingdom) would respect Ukraine's existing borders.

Border treaty (2003)

The Treaty Between the Russian Federation and Ukraine on the Russian–Ukrainian State Border was signed by President

Leonid Kuchma Leonid Danylovych Kuchma (, ; born 9 August 1938) is a Ukrainian politician who was the second president of Ukraine, serving from 19 July 1994 to 23 January 2005. The only president of Ukraine to serve two terms, his presidency was marked by demo ...

of Ukraine and President

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 ...

of the Russian Federation on 28 January 2003. It defined the entire land border between the two states (shown in red), except for the point where it met the Belarusian border, which was agreed in a separate treaty. It was ratified by both states, and entered into force on 23 April 2004. However, maritime border wasn't delimitated over controversy concerning the waters of the Azov Sea and the

. A separate Russian–Ukrainian Friendship Treaty was signed in 1997, which included the recognition of existing borders. The treaty prevented Ukraine and Russia from invading one another's country respectively, and declaring war. After Russia invaded Crimea in 2014, Ukraine announced that it would not renew the treaty again when it expired in September 2018. The treaty consequently expired on 31 March 2019.

Tuzla Island conflict (2003)

The island Tuzla Spit became a major dispute between Russia and Ukraine in 2003. The island is located in the

and administratively it is part of

. During the Soviet period, the island along with Crimea was transferred to Ukraine in 1954; the fact which was also fiercely contested by several Russian politicians was the legal background of the territorial change. The main trade routes lay completely within the deeper part of the Kerch Strait which is located between the island and Crimea and is considered a part of the territorial waters of Ukraine. On the other hand, ships are impeded to travel to the east of the island (towards the Taman peninsula) due to the fact that there are shallow waters. Between Tuzla and the Taman peninsula, there are two channels; however, none of them are deeper than . Fishing

spawn Spawn or spawning may refer to: * Spawning, the eggs and sperm of aquatic animals Arts, entertainment and media * Spawn (character), a fictional character in the comic series of the same name and in the associated franchise ** ''Spawn: Armageddon' ...

also mainly takes place in the territorial waters of Ukraine, which is favorable for the fishing industry of Crimea. The intensity of the conflict increased due to the forecast of locations of oil and gas in the area and the lack of an established and ratified international border between Russia and Ukraine. On the proposition of the Russian side, it was offered for the border to stretch along the bed of the territorial waters while sharing the use of the Azov Sea and Kerch Strait waters.

Russian annexation of Crimea (2014)

Since the March 2014 annexation of Crimea by Russia, the status of the

and of the city of

Sevastopol Sevastopol ( ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important port and naval base th ...

is currently under dispute between Russia and Ukraine; Ukraine, and the majority of the international community, consider the Crimea to be an

autonomous republic An autonomous republic is a type of administrative division similar to a province or state. A significant number of autonomous republics can be found within the successor states of the Soviet Union, but the majority are located within Russia. Ma ...

of Ukraine, and Sevastopol to be one of Ukraine's

cities with special status A city with special status (), formerly a "city of republican subordinance", is a type of first-level administrative division of Ukraine. Kyiv and Sevastopol are the only two such cities. Their administrative status is recognized in the Ukraini ...

. Russia, on the other hand, considers the Crimea to be a

federal subject of Russia The federal subjects of Russia, also referred to as the subjects of the Russian Federation () or simply as the subjects of the federation (), are the administrative division, constituent entities of Russia, its top-level political division ...

and Sevastopol to be one of Russia's three federal cities. Since 1991, Russia also leases Sevastopol Naval Base with the current lease extending to the 2040s with an option for another extension, but the Russian

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 ...

approved the denunciation of this lease agreements unanimously by 433 members of parliament on 31 March 2014.State Duma approves denunciation of Russian-Ukrainian agreements on Black Sea Fleet
,

ITAR-TASS The Russian News Agency TASS, or simply TASS, is a Russian state-owned news agency founded in 1904. It is the largest Russian news agency and one of the largest news agencies worldwide. TASS is registered as a Federal State Unitary Enterpri ...

, 31 March 2014. Borders of the Russian Naval Base, in the city of

, and its vicinity have not been clearly identified. In December 2018, Russia announced it completed the construction of the 60-km barrier across

between Ukraine and Crimea.

Restrictions on Russians entering Ukraine (2018–present)

On 1 January 2018, Ukraine introduced biometric controls for Russians entering the country. On 22 March 2018,

President of Ukraine The president of Ukraine (, ) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, conducts negotiations and concludes international treaties. ...

signed a decree that required Russian citizens and "individuals without citizenship, who come from migration risk countries” (more details were not given) to notify the Ukrainian authorities in advance about their reason for traveling to Ukraine. On 7 November 2018, the

was amended to make an illegal crossing of the border into Ukraine "to harm the country's interest" punishable by imprisonment for up to three years. This refers to persons who are denied entry to Ukraine and members of units of the Russian armed forces or other law enforcement agencies, who try to cross the state border of Ukraine by any means beyond official checkpoints or at checkpoints without proper travel documents or documents containing inaccurate information. The same acts committed repeatedly or by a group of persons will entail imprisonment from three to five years. Imprisonment from five to eight years is foreseen for committing these acts combined with violence or the use of weapons. Since 30 November 2018, Ukraine bans all Russian men between 16 and 60 from entering the country with exceptions for humanitarian purposes. Ukraine claims this is a security measure to prevent Russia from forming units of “private” armies on Ukrainian soil.

Russian invasion of Ukraine (2022–present)

On 24 February 2022, Russian forces crossed the border in a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russian forces also entered Ukraine from

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

and the disputed

Crimean Peninsula 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 Ukrai ...

. On 4 and 5 April 2022, units of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine retook control of their border crossing in

Chernihiv Oblast Chernihiv Oblast (), also referred to as Chernihivshchyna (), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in northern Ukraine. The capital city, administrative center of the oblast is the city of Chernihiv. There are 1,511 sett ...

. On 4 April,

Sumy Oblast Sumy Oblast (), also known as Sumshchyna (), is an oblast (province) in northeast Ukraine. The oblast was created in its modern-day form, from the merging of raions from Kharkiv Oblast, Chernihiv Oblast, and Poltava Oblast in 1939 by the Presid ...

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Dmytro Zhyvytskyi stated that Russian troops no longer occupied any towns or villages in Sumy Oblast and had mostly withdrawn, while Ukrainian troops were working to push out the remaining units. On 1 July 2022, Ukraine made it compulsory for Russian citizens to apply for a visa to enter Ukraine. During the first four months of the visa regime, ten visas were issued and seven Russian citizens entered Ukraine (mostly for humanitarian reasons).

Security checkpoints

According to head of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, Viktor Nazarenko, since the start of the

war in Donbas The war in Donbas, or the Donbas war, was a phase of the Russo-Ukrainian War in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine. The war Timeline of the war in Donbas (2014), began in April 2014, when Russian separatist forces in Ukraine, Russian para ...

in April 2014 Ukraine had lost control of of the state border in southeastern Ukraine. This stretch of land was under the control of the

and

. According to the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine the number of Russian citizens who crossed the border with Ukraine (more than 2.5 million Russians in 2014) dropped by almost 50% in 2015. They also refused entry into Ukraine to 16,500 citizens of Russia in 2014 and to 10,800 Russians in 2015. According to the State Border Guard there were 1.5 million trips by Russians to Ukraine in 2017.

Luhansk Oblast

* Zolote, near Zolote towards Pervomaisk

Donetsk Oblast

* Mayorske, near train station Mayorska,

Horlivka Horlivka ( ; , ), also known as Gorlovka (, ), is a city in Donetsk Oblast of Ukraine. Its population is Economic activity is predominantly coal mining and the chemical industry. The Horlivka Institute for Foreign Languages has a two-building ...

* Maryinka, near Maryinka (along Highway H15)

Geography

The border has a length of of which is land border and is sea border. It extends from a point in the

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 ...

south of the

, where the first contact the

territorial waters Territorial waters are informally an area of water where a sovereign state has jurisdiction, including internal waters, the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone, and potentially the extended continental shelf ( ...

of both states, is to the north of this strait, passing it is on the

Sea of Azov The Sea of Azov is an inland Continental shelf#Shelf seas, shelf sea in Eastern Europe connected to the Black Sea by the narrow (about ) Strait of Kerch, and sometimes regarded as a northern extension of the Black Sea. The sea is bounded by Ru ...

to the point on the coast which goes to the land border and so on to the

tripoint A triple border, tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geography, geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or Administrative division, subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints ...

with Belarus to the north. The Russia–Ukraine border has the biggest number of border checkpoints in Ukraine.

Demarcation

A treaty on the demarcation of the common border between the foreign ministers of Ukraine and Russia was signed on 17 May 2010 and came into force on 29 July of the same year.UKRAINE RUSSIA MAY dissociate itself from the Fence
,

(16 June 2014) At that time, Ukraine intended to start work on the demarcation of the border upon ratification of the agreement by the respective governments, but ratification was not completed. However on 16 June 2014 the

National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine The National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, ( NSDCU; , ''RNBOU'') or RNBO, is the coordinating state body of the executive power under the President of Ukraine on issues of national security and defense. It is a state agency tasked wi ...

ordered the government to carry out a one-side demarcation of the border "in terms of existing threats to national security", amidst the

Ukrainian border barrier

Starting in May 2015, Ukraine had been building a

fortified A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lat ...

border barrier A border barrier, border fence or border wall is a separation barrier that runs along or near an international border. Such barriers are typically constructed for border control purposes such as curbing illegal immigration, human trafficking, a ...

on the Russia–Ukraine border, popularly known as the " Yatseniuk's Wall". The project aimed to prevent Russian military and

hybrid warfare Hybrid warfare was defined by Frank Hoffman in 2007 as the emerging simultaneous use of multiple types of warfare by flexible and sophisticated adversaries who understand that successful conflict requires a variety of forms designed to fit the goa ...

intervention in Ukraine. As of May 2015, a walled defense system was under construction along the Russian border in

Kharkiv Oblast Kharkiv Oblast (, ), also referred to as Kharkivshchyna (), is an oblast (province) in eastern Ukraine. Kharkiv borders Luhansk Oblast to the east, Donetsk Oblast to the southeast, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast to the southwest, Poltava Oblast to the w ...

. The project was planned to be finished in 2018. In June 2020 the State Border Guard of Ukraine expected that the project would be finished by 2025. However, construction work on the wall was stopped when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.Ukraine's Wall project on border with Russia implemented by a mere 40% (Document)

(5 June 2020)

Land-based border checkpoints

Chernihiv – Bryansk

The section of the border between the

and

Bryansk Oblast Bryansk Oblast (), also known as Bryanshchina (, ), is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Bryansk. As of the 2021 Census, its population was 1,169,161. Geography Bryansk Oblast lies in weste ...

has length of . ''Notes:'' * 3 – three-way checkpoint with Belarus

Sumy – Bryansk

Sumy – Kursk

''Notes:'' * 1 – closed at night * 2 – under renovation

Sumy – Belgorod

''Notes:'' * 1 – closed at night

Kharkiv – Belgorod

* Hoptivka – Nekhoteyevka * Kozacha Lopan – Dolbino * Odnorobivka – Golovchino * Oleksandrivka – Bezymeno * Pisky – Logachovka * Pletenivka – Shebekino * Strilecha – Zhuravlyovka * Topoli – Valuiki * Chuhunivka – Verigovka

Luhansk – Belgorod

*Adrian Lagmay - Trestan Baldoza

Luhansk – Voronezh

* Prosyane – Bugayevka

Railroad border checkpoints

Sumy Oblast

* Konotop Rail Station ( Konotop) * Vorozhba Rail Station ( Vorozhba) * Khutir-Mykhailivsky Rail Station ( Druzhba) * Zernove Rail Station (Zernove) * Volfine Rail Station (Volfine) * Pushkarne Rail Station (Pushkarne)

Kharkiv Oblast

* Vovchansk Rail Station (

Vovchansk Vovchansk (, ; ) is a destroyed city in Chuhuiv Raion, Kharkiv Oblast, northeastern Ukraine. It hosts the administration of . The Vovcha river, a tributary of the Donets river, runs through the city. Vovchansk had a population of However, th ...

) * Kupiansk Rail Station (

Kupiansk Kupiansk or Kupyansk (, ; , ) is a city in Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Kupiansk Raion. It is also an important railroad junction for the oblast. Kupiansk hosts the administration of Kupiansk urban hromada, ...

) * Kharkiv-Passenger Rail Station (

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

) * Kharkiv-Sorting Rail Station (

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

)

Closed border checkpoints

During the

, the following border checkpoints were shut down.The Cabinet of Ministers ordered to close 23 checkpoints at the border with Russia (Кабмін розпорядився закрити 23 пункту на кордоні з Росією)
. Mirror Weekly. 20 February 2015

Chernihiv – Bryansk

* ~~Klyusy~~ (local?)

Sumy – Bryansk

* ~~Sopych~~ status is uncertain, could be same as Bachivsk

Sumy – Kursk

* ~~Boyaro-Lezhachi – Tyotkino~~ (local) * ~~Kondrativka – Yelizovetovka~~ (local) * ~~Novovasylivka – Belaya Beryozka~~ (local) * ~~Ryzhivka – Tyotkino~~ (local) * ~~Starykove – Kozino~~ (local) * ~~Volfine – Volfino~~ (local) * ~~Volodymyrivka~~ (local?)

Sumy – Belgorod

* ~~Popivka~~ (local?) (uncertain whether of Velyka Pysarivka or Krasnopillia raions)

Kharkiv – Belgorod

* ~~Budarky – Tishanka~~ (local)

Luhansk – Belgorod

* ~~Dyomino-Oleksandrivka – Valuiky (interstate)~~

Luhansk – Voronezh

* Novobila – Novobila (interstate)

Luhansk – Rostov

* Dovzhansky– Novoshakhtinsk (international) * Herasymivka – Mozhayevka (local) * Izvaryne –

Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; ; ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin, and Stalino, is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine located on the Kalmius River in Donetsk Oblast, which is currently occupied by Russia as the capita ...

(special status, international) * Krasna Talivka – Voloshinoye (international) * Milove – Chertkovo (local) * Yuhanivka – Yelan (local) * Chervona Mohyla – Gukovo (rail international) * Izvaryne –

(special status, rail international) * Milove - Chertkovo (rail international) * ~~Chervonopartyzansk – Gukovo~~ (international) * ~~Syevyerny – Donetsk~~ (local) * ~~Krasnodarsky – Donetsk~~ (local) * ~~Krasnodarsky – Nizhni Shvyrov~~ (local) * ~~Novoborovtsi – Alekseyevo-Tuzlovka~~ (local) * ~~Oleksandrivka – Titovka~~ (local) * ~~Vilkhove – Quarry of 122 km~~ (interstate) * ~~Zarynivka – Tarasovo-Melovskoye~~ (local)

Donetsk – Rostov

The section of the border between the

Donetsk Oblast Donetsk Oblast, also referred to as Donechchyna (, ), is an Oblasts of Ukraine, oblast in eastern Ukraine. It is Ukraine's most populous province, with around 4.1 million residents. Its capital city, administrative centre is Donetsk, though d ...

and

Rostov Oblast Rostov Oblast ( rus, Росто́вская о́бласть, r=Rostovskaya oblastʹ, p=rɐˈstofskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the Southern Federal District. The oblast ...

has length of . * Passengers Park (Ilovaisk) – Uspenka (rail international) * Southern Park (Ilovaisk) – Uspenka (rail international) * Kvashyne – Uspenka (international) * Marynivka – Kuibyshevo (international) * Novoazovsk – Veselo-Voznesensk (international) * ~~Ulianivske – Shramko~~ (local) * ~~Uspenka – Matveyev Kurgan~~ (international)

Crimea – Krasnodar

Port Krym Port Krym (, , - literally ''Port Crimea'') is a port in Crimea. It is located on the western shore of Kerch Strait, in the north-eastern part of Kerch city near a settlement of Zhukivka. Next to the port is located the Krym railway station. P ...

( Kerch Strait ferry line) –

Port Kavkaz Port Kavkaz () is a small harbour on the Chushka Spit in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, on the eastern side of Kerch Strait. It is adjacent to the village of Chushka (rural locality), Chushka, which is now largely deserted due to the toxic effects of the ...

, while containing a naval base of the

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 ...

Russian Federation Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, there were no borders demarcated within the city. Instead, the whole city was granted the special status and without a full-fledged mayor position.

Local border traffic

In 16 March 2015, the Russia-Ukraine local border traffic agreement was unilaterally terminated by Ukraine citing national security. On 24 March 2015, the Ukrainian side informed that Russia temporarily froze the local border traffic within the territory of Kharkiv,

Sumy Sumy (, , ) is a city in northeastern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Sumy Oblast. The city is situated on the banks of the Psel (river), Psel River and has a population of making it the 23rd-largest in the country. The city ...

and Luhansk regions of Ukraine adjacent to Belgorod and Voronezh regions of the Russian Federation. Local BCPs "Zhuravlivka" and "Oleksandrivka" (Kharkiv region) were exceptions. Simplified local border crossing was allowed for the 2015

Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...

holidays in Stanytsia-Luhanska, Milove, Troitske, Novopskov and Bilovodsk raions of the

Luhansk Oblast Luhansk Oblast (; ), also referred to as Luhanshchyna (), is the easternmost Administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) of Ukraine. Its administrative center is the city of Luhansk. The oblast was established in 1938 and bore the n ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Russia-Ukraine border Borders of Russia Borders of Ukraine Russia–Ukraine relations 1991 establishments in Ukraine 1991 establishments in Russia International borders Internal borders of the Soviet Union

History before 1991

Under the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union

Border with the anti-Bolshevik Don Republic

Second invasion by the Russian SFSR

1954 transfer of Crimea to Ukraine

History since 1991

Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances (1994)

Border treaty (2003)

Tuzla Island conflict (2003)

Russian annexation of Crimea (2014)

Restrictions on Russians entering Ukraine (2018–present)

Russian invasion of Ukraine (2022–present)

Security checkpoints

Luhansk Oblast

Donetsk Oblast

Geography

Demarcation

Ukrainian border barrier

Land-based border checkpoints

Chernihiv – Bryansk

Sumy – Bryansk

Sumy – Kursk

Sumy – Belgorod

Kharkiv – Belgorod

Luhansk – Belgorod

Luhansk – Voronezh

Railroad border checkpoints

Sumy Oblast

Kharkiv Oblast

Closed border checkpoints

Chernihiv – Bryansk

Sumy – Bryansk

Sumy – Kursk

Sumy – Belgorod

Kharkiv – Belgorod

Luhansk – Belgorod

Luhansk – Voronezh

Luhansk – Rostov

Donetsk – Rostov

Crimea – Krasnodar

Local border traffic

See also

References