Black Sea and Crimea

Why in news?

• Russia fired warning shots at a British destroyer off the coast of Crimea.

About Black Sea:

• Black Sea is a body of water and marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean between the Balkans, Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Western Asia.
• It is supplied by a number of major rivers, such as the Danube, Dnieper etc.
• Coastal countries: Bulgaria, Georgia , Romania, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine.
• The Black Sea drains into the Mediterranean Sea, via the Aegean Sea.
• The Bosphorus Strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara which then connects to the Aegean sea through the Dardanelles strati.

Crimean Peninsula:

• Crimea  is a peninsula located on the northern coast of the Black Sea in Eastern Europe that is almost completely surrounded by both the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov to the northeast.
• Crimea is located south of the Ukrainian region of Kherson, to which it is connected by the Isthmus of Perekop, and west of the Russian region of Kuban, from which it is separated by the Strait of Kerch.
• In February 2014, following the Ukrainian revolution that ousted the then Ukrainian President, Viktor Yanukovych, Russia annexed Crimea after a military intervention by pro-Russian separatists and Russian Armed Forces.
• A controversial Crimea-wide referendum was held on the issue of reunification with Russia; its official results showed over 90% support for reunification, however, the vote was boycotted by many loyal to Ukraine and declared illegitimate by Western governments and the United Nations.
• Russia formally annexed Crimea on 18 March 2014, incorporating the Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol as the 84th and 85th federal subjects of Russia.
• The status of Crimea is disputed. It is claimed by Ukraine and recognized as Ukrainian by the United Nations and most other countries.

Prelims Question

Which of the following countries does not have a coast on the Black Sea?
(a)Serbia
(b)Romania
(c)Ukraine
(d)Georgia

Answer to prelims question