Kremlin is cynically applying to the West to lift sanctions under the pretext of coronavirus pandemic. Those sanctions which were imposed against Russia as a response for annexation of Crimea, aggression in eastern Ukraine and shooting down of Boeing MH17 in the sky over Donbas! Today, at the time of rapidly deepening crisis, these sanctions inflict critical pressure on the Russian economy.
Even in this situation, Kremlin is not only continuing active military operations in eastern Ukraine, but is holding itself also extremely insolent and aggressive on the Black Sea shelf, in Ukraine’s exclusive economic zone.
Exploiting marine drilling rigs stolen from Ukraine during the annexation of Crimea, Russia avowedly steals gas from Ukrainian fields on the Black Sea shelf. Every year it illegally recovers over 1.5 billion cubic meters of Ukrainian gas.
The Maritime Guard of Ukraine regularly records movement of captured mobile rigs “Petro Hodovanets”, “Ukraine”, “Tavrida” and “Sivash” at Ukrainian fields. Currently, the illegal operation of two self-elevating floating drilling rigs has been recorded at the Odessa gas field 120 kilometres from Odessa and at the Golitsyn gas field. Their operation is being undercovered by the ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet and the FSB coast guard.
In addition to illegal gas recovery, the Russians have installed radar facilities on drilling platforms, turning them into military reconnaissance facilities. Thus, Russia, hiding behind the civilian infrastructure, monitors the maritime traffic of merchant ships and warships heading for Ukrainian ports. Such actions pursue compensating the NATO military contingent presence in the Black Sea (which has become a response to the annexation and militarization of Crimea) and decreasing the navigable capabilities of the Black Sea countries, which is a flagrant violation of the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea.
In 2014, after the Crimea annexation, Russia “nationalized” gas pipelines, storage facilities, marine drilling platforms and 17 fields, deprived Ukraine of the opportunity to exercise its rights as a maritime state and govern its own maritime territories. In violation of international law, Russia steals energy and fish resources, causes physical harm to Ukrainian fishermen and suppress the entry into the Ukrainian ports for the ships due to the illegal construction of the Kerch Bridge.
At the same time, sanctions imposed against Russia prevent Russia from effectively using and servicing existing wells and drilling rigs. The required capital investments are prohibitive and the sanctions do not allow attracting investors and using high-quality foreign equipment.
Ukraine is defending its rights to the Crimean assets stolen 6 years ago, including drilling assets on the Black Sea shelf, at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague. Ukraine has already won the first stage where the Russian Federation was found guilty for seizure of the assets of Naftogaz of Ukraine and its subsidiaries, currently the losses are being calculated. Hearings will be held in May 2020, and the court judgment is expected in 2021 at the earliest. Experts warn that it will not be easy proceedings, as there have been no similar precedents in maritime law. Nevertheless, Ukraine still has high chances to win the case, as the fact remains that the assets were stolen.
Meanwhile, at the time when Ukraine, suffered from the Russian aggression, is facing serious economic losses and seeking justice before international courts, Kremlin, using the situation around the pandemic, has launched a massive and cynical campaign to lift the sanctions imposed for quite evident crimes and outright disregard for international law. It is absolutely oddly what mitigation or lifting of the sanctions Russia may expect, if it still continues its hybrid aggression against Ukraine both by land and by sea?
Facebook Comments
