Russia Terminates Navigation Safety Agreement with Ukraine in the Sea of Azov

On February 17, 2025, the Russian government announced the termination of a crucial agreement with Ukraine designed to ensure safe navigation in the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait. The order, signed by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, was made public via the official legal information portal. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been tasked with informing the Ukrainian government of this decision.

The original agreement, established on March 20, 2012, in Moscow, aimed to enhance navigation safety in busy shipping areas, specifically within the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait. It included provisions for the exchange of Automatic Identification System (AIS) data between the two nations to facilitate effective monitoring of maritime traffic.

The decision to terminate this agreement was based on Article 37 of the Federal Law “On International Treaties of the Russian Federation,” which allows for the annulment of international treaties in the event of significant changes in the circumstances that were present at the time the treaty was signed.

This latest termination is not an isolated incident; it follows a pattern of similar actions taken by Russia. In June 2023, President Vladimir Putin signed legislation to withdraw from a 2003 agreement regarding the use of the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait. At that time, the Kremlin justified its decision by asserting that the Sea of Azov had become an internal body of water for the Russian Federation following the annexation of the Donetsk People’s Republic and the incorporation of the Zaporizhia and Kherson regions into Russia.