Azov Under Russian Control: The Strategic Loss Ukraine Cannot Ignore

A harsh but undeniable fact: among the most important gains Vladimir Putin claims from Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he places Crimea and full control over the Azov Sea at the very top. The Russian leader proudly declares that Russia has “expanded by acquiring its internal sea,” boasting that he supposedly fulfilled the ambitions of Catherine II and Peter the Great. In this narrative, Putin positions himself as a “historic figure” who has allegedly restored “historical justice.”

In Ukraine’s public discourse, the topic of losing the Azov Sea is rarely discussed — partly to avoid drawing public attention to the fact that Russia has achieved real, long-term strategic advantages in this direction. Meanwhile, the Kremlin is already actively and exclusively exploiting the Azov Sea for its own military, economic and logistical needs.

It is also important to acknowledge another uncomfortable reality: in the short term, Ukraine’s ability to regain occupied territories is undermined not only by Russian fortifications, but also by systemic corruption and large-scale embezzlement by oligarchic groups — including the notorious “Mindych network” — which continues to hollow out the state from within. Losses at the front become even more painful when the rear is weakened by corruption.

At the same time, Russia continues entrenching its control over the Azov Sea — now under the guise of “scientific research.”

On 28 November, Moscow launched a winter trawl expedition in the Azov Sea. Russian ichthyologists announced they would assess the stocks of mullet, turbot and sturgeon species. The cruise, aimed at conducting a winter trawl survey, was reported by the press service of the Azov-Black Sea branch of Russia’s national fisheries and oceanography institute.

In practice, this activity serves as another instrument for legitimizing Russia’s full and unilateral control over the Azov Sea — which the Kremlin now treats not as a shared body of water, but as a fully internal Russian sea.

With Ukraine fighting for survival and resources stretched thin, the Kremlin is methodically cementing one of its most significant — yet least discussed — strategic gains of the entire war.

EMPR