2003 Tuzla Island conflict

Territorial dispute between Russia and Ukraine 2003 Tuzla Island conflict File:Kerch Strait, Ukraine, Russia, near natural colors satellite image, LandSat-5, 2011-08-30.jpg Kerch Strait in 2011, with the long, thin causeway stretching from the Russian coast towards the island September–October 2003 Tuzla Island, Kerch Strait Russia Flag of the Russian Federal Security Service.svg Federal Security Service Флаг ПС ФСБ России.png FSB Border Service Ukraine Flag of the Ukrainian Ministry of the Interior.png Ministry of Internal Affairs Flag of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.svg State Border Guard Service Russia Vladimir Putin Russia Mikhail Kasyanov Ukraine Leonid Kuchma Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych See the #Aftermath post-Soviet conflicts A dispute over Tuzla Island in the Kerch Strait arose between Russia and Ukraine in 2003, sparked by unannounced Russian construction of a causeway from their side of the strait toward the island, which is Ukrainian territory. Russians offered various reasons for building the causeway, but Ukraine saw it as a threat to their territorial integrity. The dispute raised fears of an armed confrontation, but a settlement was negotiated. Background Tuzla Island is a sandy island off the coast of the Crimean Peninsula. Formerly a spit connected by land to the Kuban region of Russia, it was disconnected from it by a heavy storm in 1925. In 1941, the island was transferred to the Crimean Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic, which was part of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. It became the Crimean Oblast in 1945, and the oblast was transferred to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1954. Tuzla Island came under the control of the briefly independent Republic of Crimea before joining with Ukraine when the Crimean parliament joined Ukraine in 1995. Russia recognized Ukrainian sovereignty over Crimea in the Russian–Ukrainian Friendship Treaty of 1997, but the status of Tuzla Island was not settled and remained a sore spot in Russia–Ukraine relations. The governor of Krasnodar Krai, Alexksandr Tkachyov, said in 2003, "... I think that this is land that was bathed in Cossack blood, and therefore it is our sacred land," claiming the island as part of Russia.Lambroschini Sophie Russia/Ukraine: Prime ministers meet today over Tuzla dam dispute https://www.rferl.org/a/1104782.html 2022-12-22 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty 24 October 2003 en 2023-04-07 https://web.archive.org/web/20230407212044/https://www.rferl.org/a/1104782.html live Tkachyov later met with the deputy speaker of the Russian duma, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, who then claimed that the majority of the Duma backed the Russian claim over Tuzla Island.Byrne Peter 30 October 2003 Tussle over Tuzla islet continues https://www.kyivpost.com/article/content/ukraine-politics/tussle-over-tuzla-islet-continues-19306.html Kyiv Post 5 June 2024 Controlling the island would give either country much control over the shipping to the Sea of Azov and for that reason it was seen as a priority for the Ukrainian government. In 2003, the island was home to a dozen families of Ukrainian fishermen,Is Moscow heading for border conflict with Kyiv? https://www.rferl.org/a/1143023.html 16 October 2003 Newsline Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty en 5 June 2024 2022-10-18 https://web.archive.org/web/20221018091337/https://www.rferl.org/a/1143023.html live and two vacation resorts. Events On 9 September 2003, Russians began construction of a causeway from the Taman Peninsula in Krasnodar Krai towards Tuzla Island. The work began rapidly, without notice, with up to 180 dump truck loads of earth an hour being dropped into the sea.Murphy Kim 3 November 2003 Russia-Ukraine Ties Founder on the Shore of Tiny Isle Los Angeles Times https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-nov-03-fg-ukraine3-story.html 3 August 2018 25 January 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20120125045253/http://articles.latimes.com/2003/nov/03/world/fg-ukraine3 live There were several stories regarding what entity in Russia authorised the construction. One had it that a local self-government body of the Kuban Cossacks authorised construction to reduce saltwater flow to Taman Bay, to thus improve conditions for certain species of fish. According to this story, many Kuban Cossack activists were among the construction workers. Kyiv newspaper Zerkalo Nedeli suggested that it was supported by local Crimean and Russian businessmen and Ukrainian Communist politician Leonid Hrach to convince Ukraine and Russia to build a bridge over Kerch Strait to facilitate trade. Officials in Krasnodar Krai said they were just rebuilding the pre-1925 land connection, to protect their coastal area from flooding. The central government in Moscow likewise said it was to prevent erosion of the coast.Fawkes Helen Summit tackles Black Sea dispute https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3345395.stm 13 October 2022 24 December 2003 BBC 19 October 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20221019015038/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3345395.stm live Romanian-American political analyst Vladimir Socor claimed that the construction was by Russia's Ministry of Emergency Situations. He said that Russian president Vladimir Putin personally ordered and oversaw the construction, with the purpose of connecting Russia to Tuzla Island, making it part of the Russian mainland. He said that Russia was attempting to seize control of the strait's main shipping channel from Ukraine.Socor Vladimir Vladimir Socor https://jamestown.org/program/azov-sea-kerch-strait-evolution-of-their-purported-legal-status-part-two/ Azov Sea, Kerch Strait: Evolution of their purported legal status (part two) Eurasia Daily Monitor 15 171 5 December 2018 Jamestown Foundation 2022-10-12 2022-10-12 https://web.archive.org/web/20221012162010/https://jamestown.org/program/azov-sea-kerch-strait-evolution-of-their-purported-legal-status-part-two/ live The Ukrainian government responded by deploying border troops of the Simferopol Detachment on the island. Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych said, "Tuzla is an integral part of Ukrainian territory." Deputy Prime minister Mykola Azarov later said that the Ukrainian government would spend "whatever amount necessary" to defend its national interest following the allocation of 5.5 million hryvnia to increase border security on Tuzla. On 21 October 2003, the Russian tugboat Truzhenik crossed the border to photograph and film border posts and defences on the island and was detained by the Border Service of Ukraine. The Ukrainians released the tugboat after armed Russian coastal guard boats arrived.Russian-Ukrainian naval incident in the Kerch Strait Socor Vladimir Vladimir Socor 24 October 2003 https://www.aei.org/articles/russian-ukrainian-naval-incident-in-the-kerch-strait/ American Enterprise Institute 5 June 2024 https://web.archive.org/web/20240606111529/https://www.aei.org/articles/russian-ukrainian-naval-incident-in-the-kerch-strait/ 6 June 2024 live On 23 October 2003, the Verkhovna Rada issued a resolution "to eliminate a threat to the territorial integrity of Ukraine that appeared as a result of dam construction by the Russian Federation in the strait of Kerch". A provisional special parliamentary commission was created to investigate the case more thoroughly. On 30–31 October 2003, talks started between Ukraine and Russia in order to deflate the crisis.Woronowycz Roman 26 October 2003 Russian-Ukrainian dispute over Tuzla escalates http://www.ukrweekly.com/old/archive/2003/430301.shtml 3 August 2018 www.ukrweekly.com 3 August 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20180803074214/http://www.ukrweekly.com/old/archive/2003/430301.shtml dead President Kuchma ended the confrontation through an undeclared compromise, accepting terms disadvantageous to Ukraine, in return for Russian authorities halting construction of the causeway and accepting the continuation of Ukrainian sovereignty over the strait's navigable channel. Aftermath The incident damaged Leonid Kuchma's reputation domestically, as he was accused of attempting to control Ukrainian media reporting on the event. Disputes about right of passage were resolved by a 2003 bilateral agreement on cooperation in the use of the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait,Kozelsky Mara November 2018 Chapter 7: The Kerch Strait and the Azov Sea Crimea in War and Transformation OUP 10.1093/oso/9780190644710.003.0008 Oxford Scholarship OnlineJune 2024 Not surprising, as this book is about the war of the 1850s. which made these water bodies shared internal waters of both countries. The island came under full Russian control following the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea, and they built the Kerch Strait Bridge partly on it.2018-05-15 Putin opens 12-mile bridge between Crimea and Russian mainland http://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/15/putin-opens-bridge-between-crimea-and-russian-mainland 2022-12-22 The Guardian en 2022-09-22 https://web.archive.org/web/20220922101629/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/15/putin-opens-bridge-between-crimea-and-russian-mainland live See also 1986 Black Sea incident 1988 Black Sea bumping incident 2018 Kerch Strait incident 2021 Black Sea incident Black Sea Fleet dispute References Category:2003 in Russia Category:2003 in Ukraine Category:Military history of Crimea Category:21st-century military history of Russia Category:2003 in international relations Category:2003 conflicts Category:Conflicts in Ukraine Category:Political scandals in Ukraine Category:Conflicts in territory of the former Soviet Union Category:Territorial disputes of Russia Category:Territorial disputes of Ukraine Category:Russia–Ukraine relations Category:October 2003 in Russia Category:October 2003 in Ukraine Category:21st-century military history of Ukraine Category:2000s in Crimea Category:Tuzla Island