Editing Black Sea (section)

=== Modern military use ===
[[File:USS Yorktown collision.jpg|thumb|Soviet frigate ''[[Ukrainian frigate Dnipropetrovsk|Bezzavetny]]'' (right) bumping the [[USS Yorktown (CG-48)|USS ''Yorktown'']] during the [[1988 Black Sea bumping incident]]]]
[[File:Boat U170 Skadovsk 2012 G1.jpg|thumb|[[Ukrainian Navy]] artillery boat U170 in the [[Bay of Sevastopol]]]]
The [[Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Straits|1936 Montreux Convention]] provides for free passage of civilian ships between the international waters of the Black and the Mediterranean seas. However, a single country (Turkey) has complete control over the straits connecting the two seas. Military ships are categorized separately from civilian vessels and can pass through the straits only if the ship belongs to a Black Sea country. Other military ships have the right to pass through the straits if they are not in a war against Turkey and if they stay in the Black Sea basin for a limited time. The 1982 amendments to the [[Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Straits|Montreux Convention]] allow Turkey to close the straits at its discretion in both war and peacetime.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.yeniansiklopedi.com/bogazlar-sorunu/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212082536/http://www.yeniansiklopedi.com/bogazlar-sorunu/ |archive-date=12 December 2013 |title=Montreaux and the Bosporus Problem |language=tr}}</ref>

The Montreux Convention governs the passage of vessels between the Black, Mediterranean, and Aegean seas and the presence of military vessels belonging to non-[[littoral]] states in the Black Sea waters.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.karalahana.com/kafkasya-politika-strateji/Montro_TR.pdf |title=Montreaux Convention and Turkey (pdf) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130319212703/http://www.karalahana.com/kafkasya-politika-strateji/Montro_TR.pdf |archive-date=19 March 2013}}</ref>

The Russian [[Black Sea Fleet]] has its official primary headquarters and facilities in the city of [[Sevastopol]] ([[Sevastopol Naval Base]]).<ref>{{cite news |title=HMS Defender: What will be the fallout from Black Sea incident? |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-57589366 |publisher=BBC News |date=23 June 2021}}</ref>

The Soviet hospital ship {{ship||Armenia|ship|2}} was sunk on 7 November 1941 by German aircraft while evacuating civilians and wounded soldiers from [[Crimea]]. It has been estimated that approximately 5,000 to 7,000 people were killed during the sinking, making it one of the deadliest [[List of maritime disasters in the 20th century|maritime disasters]] in history. There were only eight survivors.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?17800 |title=MV Armenia (Армения) (+1941) |website=Wrecksite.eu |date=27 October 2014 }}</ref>

In December 2018, the [[Kerch Strait incident]] occurred, in which the Russian navy and coast guard took control of three Ukrainian vessels as the ships were trying to transit from the Black Sea into the [[Sea of Azov]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/dec/04/ukraine-ports-partially-unblocked-by-russia-says-kiev |title=Ukraine's ports partially unblocked by Russia, says Kiev |agency=Associated Press |date=4 December 2018 |work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref>

In April 2022, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the [[Russian cruiser Moskva]] was sunk in the western Black Sea by sea-skimming [[R-360 Neptune|Neptune]] missiles of the [[Armed Forces of Ukraine|Ukrainian Armed Forces]]<ref>{{cite web |date=15 April 2022 |title=Prized Russian Ship Was Hit by Missiles, U.S. Officials Say |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/15/us/politics/russia-moskva-ship-sunk-ukraine.html |url-access=limited |work=[[The New York Times]] |agency=New York Times}}</ref> while the Russians claimed that an onboard fire had caused munitions to explode and damage the ship extensively.<ref>{{Cite news |date=14 April 2022 |title=Ukraine claims it hit a Russian warship with a missile strike. Russia says otherwise. |work=CNN |url=https://edition.cnn.com/europe/live-news/ukraine-russia-putin-news-04-14-22#h_b86aab890c25dec71a5bc96c478076b2}}</ref> She was the largest ship to be lost in naval combat in Europe since [[World War II]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=15 April 2022 |title=Russian warship: Moskva sinks in Black Sea |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61114843 |access-date=15 June 2022}}</ref>

In late 2023, Russia announced plans to build a naval base on the Black Sea coast of [[Abkhazia]].<ref name="abkhazia_2023_10_05_reuters">[https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-plans-naval-base-black-sea-coast-breakaway-georgian-region-izvestiya-2023-10-05/ "Russia plans naval base in Abkhazia, triggering criticism from Georgia"] 5 October 2023, [[Reuters]], retrieved 12 January 2024</ref><ref name="breakaway_2023_10_05_politico">[https://www.politico.eu/article/vladimir-putin-russia-black-sea-abkhazia-plans-to-build-naval-base-in-georgias-breakaway-region-as-it-pulls-vessels-from-sevastopol-base/ "Russia to build naval base in breakaway Georgia region"] 5 October 2023, ''[[Politico]]'' (Politico.eu), retrieved 12 January 2024</ref><ref name="alarms_2023_12_12_bbc">[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67625450 "Russia's new Black Sea naval base alarms Georgia,"] 12 December 2023, [[BBC News]], retrieved 12 January 2024</ref>{{efn|name=Abkhazia}}