| Russia–Ukraine border | |
|---|---|
 Map showing state border betweenUkraine andRussia. Blue line indicates border line agreed through2003 bilateral Treaty on the Russian–Ukrainian border. Red line indicates the border claimed by Russia after theannexation of Crimea in 2014 andRussian annexation of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts in 2022. | |
| Characteristics | |
| Entities |  Russia Ukraine |
| Length | 1925.8 km[1] (de-jure) |
| History | |
| Established | 1991, 2003[2] Dissolution of the Soviet Union,Treaty on the Russian–Ukrainian border |
| Current shape | 2022 Annexation of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts |
| Notes | Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine |
TheRussia–Ukraine border is thede jure international boundary betweenRussia andUkraine. Over land, the border spans five Russianoblasts and five Ukrainian oblasts. Due to the ongoingRusso-Ukrainian War, which began in early 2014, thede facto border between Russia and Ukraine is different from the legal border recognized by theUnited Nations. As of 2024[update], Russia ismilitarily occupying a significant portion of Ukraine, and Ukraine ismilitarily occupying a very small portion of Russia.
According to a 2016 statement byViktor Nazarenko, the head of theState Border Guard Service of Ukraine, the Ukrainian government did not have control over 409.3 kilometres (254.3 mi) of the international border with Russia.[3] This stretch of land was formerly controlled bypro-Russian separatists under theDonetsk People's Republic and theLuhansk People's Republic (seeWar in Donbas), both of which wereannexed by Russia in September 2022, seven months after the beginning of the ongoingRussian invasion of Ukraine.[4] Ukraine has also not had authority over theKerch Strait since 2014, when Russiaannexed Crimea; the Ukrainian administration was pushed out ofCrimea and Russian checkpoints were set up at the boundary withKherson Oblast.
In 2014, as the Ukrainian government lost Crimea and a portion of theDonbas to Russia and Russian-backed separatists, respectively, it unveiled a plan called "Project Wall" through which it sought to erect a fortified border barrier along the rest of the international border, with the goal of blocking any further Russian incursions into the country. It was estimated that the barrier would cost around US$520 million and take four years to complete. Construction began in 2015,[5] but was suspended due to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
On 1 January 2018, Ukraine introduced biometric controls for Russian citizens entering the country.[6] On 22 March 2018, former Ukrainian presidentPetro Poroshenko signed a decree into law that required all Russian visitors to inform Ukrainian authorities of their reason for travelling to Ukraine before their date of entry.[6] On 7 November 2018, theCriminal Code of Ukraine was amended to make illegal border crossings by Russians into Ukraine ("to harm the country's interest") punishable by imprisonment for up to three years.[7]
Since 30 November 2018, Ukraine has banned all Russian males aged 16–60 from entering the country, albeit with room for exceptions on humanitarian grounds.[8][9][10][11]
There is only one checkpoint on the Russia-Ukraine border that is open to Ukrainians, Kolotylivka-Pokrovka, located between the Sumy Oblast in Ukraine and the Belgorod Oblast in Russia.[12] Since 1 March 2020, Ukrainian citizens are required to use their "international passport" when crossing the Ukrainian border to enter Russia.
The border has inherited its location from the administrative-territorial division between theUkrainian SSR and theRussian SFSR. The first real demarcation took place in May 1918 inKursk.[13] After the fall of theRussian Empire, several factions sought to create an independent Ukrainian state, alternately cooperating and struggling against each other. Most of Ukraine (Ukrainian People's Republic) was overrun by the Red Guards ofSoviet Russia. With the help of theCentral Powers, Ukraine managed to recover all its territories of "Ukrainian governorates" and also annexed a number of neighboring counties of Kursk and Voronezh governorates where the ethnic composition of the population was predominantly Ukrainophone (Ukrainian-speaking).[14] On 6 May 1918, a ceasefire agreement was signed inKonotop between Ukraine and Soviet Russia.[13] Between the fighting sides a neutral territory between 10 and 40 km wide was established to prevent further aggression, but the Russian side decided to create guerrilla forces which were transformed into two "Ukrainian divisions"[13] (seeNikolay Shchors).
Peace talks started on 23 May 1918 inKyiv, where the Russian delegation was headed byChristian Rakovsky andDmitry Manuilsky, while the Ukrainian - bySerhiy Shelukhin [uk] (Ambassador of Ukraine to Russia).[13] On June 12, 1918, the sides signed apreliminary peace treaty.[13] Further negotiations stalled due to a lack of consensus on the issue of the borders.[13] The Ukrainian side was proposing an ethnic principle based on the already established political, geographical, and economic aspects, while the Russian side insisted on conducting a plebiscite in each populated place.[13] On 22 June 1918, both sides finally agreed to go along with the Ukrainian proposition, while any contested issues would be decided by plebiscite.[13] Yet any further negotiations led nowhere and were terminated by the Ukrainian delegation in October 1918 as it was becoming apparent that the Russian was using their time more for the pro-Soviet propaganda.[13]
More productive were negotiations between theDon Republic and Ukraine that started soon after the Don Republic formed its government on 16 May 1918.[13] The Don side was presented by the Minister of tradeVladimir Lebedev and the Ambassador of Don to Ukraine GeneralAleksandr Cheriachukin, while the Ukrainian side - by theMinister of Foreign AffairsDmytro Doroshenko.[13]
On 8 August 1918, the sides signed the treaty "About Basic Principles of Bilateral Relations", wherein each side agreed to renounce its territorial contests against the other, and borders were established based on the gubernatorial division of the Russian Empire.[13] The Don-Ukraine border outlined theOblast of Don Host to the west of the Don Republic and Yekaterinoslav, Kharkiv, Voronezh guberniyas to the east of Ukraine.[13] To Ukraine also was ceded some territory of the right bank of theKalmius river just east ofMariupol "to ensure the proper administration of the city and port".[13] On September 18, 1918, between Don and Ukraine the Don-Ukrainian Commission was created for the administration of the Taganrog Industrial District, based inKharkiv.[13]
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After the second invasion of the Soviet troops during theRussian Civil War in 1919, the new Soviet government of Ukraine intended to retain all territorial gains of the Ukrainian national government (Ukrainian State). However, after several rounds of negotiations, the border between the "Ukrainian governorates" (Chernihiv and Kharkiv) and the "Russian governorates" (Bryansk and Kursk) was left intact.[14] It also was agreed that Ukraine would border Crimea at thePerekop Isthmus.[14] On March 10, 1919, a border treaty was signed between theRussian SFSR and theUkrainian SSR.[14]
On April 24, 1919, theUkrainian SSR was stripped of four counties of theChernihiv Governorate that on the unilateral decision of thePeople's Commissariat of Foreign Affairs of theRussian SFSR were transferred to the newly createdGomel Governorate.[14] On April 28, 1919, the Central Committee of theCommunist Party of Ukraine simply acknowledged it.[14]
After the USSR wasformally created in 1922 and due to the onset of the administrative division reform, issues emerged. The Ukrainian government claimed mainly some parts of the Kursk and Voronezh gubernia, which were home to a Ukrainian-speaking population. As a result of the border dispute of the 1920s,Ukraine was granted approximately one-third of the claimed territories, while the Taganrog and Shakhty districts went back to the RSFSR. By 1927, the administrative border between the RSFSR andUkrainian SSR was established.
In 1954,First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet UnionNikita Khrushchevtransferred the peninsula ofCrimea from theRussian SFSR to theUkrainian SSR. This event was viewed as an insignificant "symbolic gesture", as both republics were a part of theSoviet Union and answerable to the government inMoscow.[15][16][17] Crimean autonomy was re-established aftera referendum in 1991, 11 months prior to thedissolution of the Soviet Union.[18]
In 1991,Ukraine as a new independent state inherited the territory and the boundaries of the formerUkrainian SSR. At the time the Russia–Ukraine border was an administrative line, which was not delimited nor demarcated.Ukraine has been trying to establish a proper border since.[19]
On December 8, 1991, the Russian SFSR (and the Republic of Belarus), signed theBelovezha Accords with Ukraine, including the Agreement Establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States wherein the parties agreed to "recognise and respect one another’s territorial integrity and the inviolability of existing borders" (Article 5).[20][21] A similar pledge was made in theAlma-Ata Protocol signed by eleven states on December 21, 1991.[21] These treaties were both quickly ratified by Russia and Ukraine in December 1991.
TheBudapest Memorandum on Security Assurances refers to three identical political agreements signed at the OSCE conference in Budapest, Hungary on 5 December 1994. Among other things, the Memorandum promised that its signatories (the Russian Federation, the United States of America, and the United Kingdom) would respect Ukraine's existing borders.
TheTreaty Between the Russian Federation and Ukraine on the Russian–Ukrainian State Border[22] was signed by PresidentLeonid Kuchma of Ukraine and PresidentVladimir Putin of the Russian Federation on 28 January 2003.[23] It defined the entire land border between the two states (shown in red), except for the point where it met the Belarusian border, which was agreed in a separate treaty.[22] It was ratified by both states, and entered into force on 23 April 2004.[23] However, maritime border wasn't delimitated over controversy concerning the waters of theAzov Sea and theKerch Strait. A separateRussian–Ukrainian Friendship Treaty was signed in 1997, which included the recognition of existing borders. The treaty prevented Ukraine and Russia from invading one another's country respectively, and declaring war. After Russia invaded Crimea in 2014, Ukraine announced that it would not renew the treaty again when it expired in September 2018. The treaty consequently expired on 31 March 2019.[citation needed][dubious –discuss]
The islandTuzla Spit became a major dispute between Russia and Ukraine in 2003. The island is located in theKerch Strait and administratively it is part ofCrimea,Ukraine. During the Soviet period, the islandalong with Crimea was transferred to Ukraine in 1954; the fact which was also fiercely contested by several Russian politicians was the legal background of the territorial change.
The main trade routes lay completely within the deeper part of the Kerch Strait which is located between the island and Crimea and is considered a part of the territorial waters of Ukraine. On the other hand, ships are impeded to travel to the east of the island (towards theTaman peninsula) due to the fact that there are shallow waters. Between Tuzla and the Taman peninsula, there are two channels; however, none of them are deeper than 3 m (9.8 ft). Fishingspawn also mainly takes place in the territorial waters of Ukraine, which is favorable for the fishing industry of Crimea. The intensity of the conflict increased due to the forecast of locations of oil and gas in the area and the lack of an established and ratified international border between Russia and Ukraine. On the proposition of the Russian side, it was offered for the border to stretch along the bed of the territorial waters while sharing the use of the Azov Sea and Kerch Strait waters.
Since theMarch 2014 annexation of Crimea by Russia, the status of theCrimea and of the city ofSevastopol is currentlyunder dispute between Russia and Ukraine; Ukraine, and the majority of the international community, consider the Crimea to be anautonomous republic of Ukraine, and Sevastopol to be one of Ukraine'scities with special status. Russia, on the other hand, considers the Crimea to be afederal subject of Russia and Sevastopol to be one of Russia's threefederal cities.[24][25] Since 1991, Russia also leases Sevastopol Naval Base with the current lease extending to the 2040s with an option for another extension, but the RussianState Duma approved the denunciation of this lease agreements unanimously by 433 members of parliament on 31 March 2014.[26]
Borders of the Russian Naval Base, in the city ofSevastopol, and its vicinity have not been clearly identified.
In December 2018, Russia announced it completed the construction of the 60-km barrier acrossPerekop Isthmus between Ukraine and Crimea.[27]
On 1 January 2018, Ukraine introduced biometric controls for Russians entering the country.[6] On 22 March 2018,President of UkrainePetro Poroshenko signed a decree that required Russian citizens and "individuals without citizenship, who come from migration risk countries” (more details were not given) to notify the Ukrainian authorities in advance about their reason for traveling to Ukraine.[6]
On 7 November 2018, theCriminal Code of Ukraine was amended to make an illegal crossing of the border into Ukraine "to harm the country's interest" punishable by imprisonment for up to three years.[7] This refers to persons who are denied entry to Ukraine and members of units of the Russian armed forces or other law enforcement agencies, who try to cross the state border of Ukraine by any means beyond official checkpoints or at checkpoints without proper travel documents or documents containing inaccurate information.[7] The same acts committed repeatedly or by a group of persons will entail imprisonment from three to five years.[7] Imprisonment from five to eight years is foreseen for committing these acts combined with violence or the use of weapons.[7]
Since 30 November 2018, Ukraine bans all Russian men between 16 and 60 from entering the country with exceptions for humanitarian purposes.[9][10][11] Ukraine claims this is a security measure to prevent Russia from forming units of “private” armies on Ukrainian soil.[8]
On 24 February 2022, Russian forces crossed the border ina full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russian forces also entered Ukraine fromBelarus and the disputedCrimean Peninsula.[28]
On 4 and 5 April 2022, units of theState Border Guard Service of Ukraine retook control of their border crossing inChernihiv Oblast.[29] On 4 April,Sumy Oblast'sGovernorDmytro Zhyvytskyi stated that Russian troops no longer occupied any towns or villages in Sumy Oblast and had mostly withdrawn, while Ukrainian troops were working to push out the remaining units.[30]
On 1 July 2022, Ukraine made it compulsory for Russian citizens to apply for avisa to enter Ukraine.[31] During the first four months of the visa regime, ten visas were issued and seven Russian citizens entered Ukraine (mostly for humanitarian reasons).[31]
According to head of theState Border Guard Service of Ukraine,Viktor Nazarenko, since the start of thewar in Donbas in April 2014 Ukraine had lost control of 409.3 kilometres (254.3 mi) of the state border in southeastern Ukraine.[3][32] This stretch of land was under the control of theDonetsk People's Republic andLuhansk People's Republic.[4]
According to the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine the number ofRussian citizens who crossed the border with Ukraine (more than 2.5 million Russians in 2014) dropped by almost 50% in 2015.[33] They also refused entry into Ukraine to 16,500 citizens of Russia in 2014 and to 10,800 Russians in 2015.[34] According to the State Border Guard there were 1.5 million trips by Russians to Ukraine in 2017.[6]
The border has a length of 2,295.04 kilometres (1,426.07 mi) of which 1,974.04 kilometres (1,226.61 mi) is land border and 321 kilometres (199 mi) is sea border. It extends from a point in theBlack Sea 22.5 kilometres (14.0 mi) south of theKerch Strait, where the first contact theterritorial waters of both states, is to the north of this strait, passing it is on theSea of Azov to the point on the coast which goes to the land border and so on to thetripoint with Belarus to the north. The Russia–Ukraine border has the biggest number of border checkpoints in Ukraine.[citation needed]
A treaty on the demarcation of the common border between the foreign ministers of Ukraine and Russia was signed on 17 May 2010 and came into force on 29 July of the same year.[35] At that time, Ukraine intended to start work on the demarcation of the border upon ratification of the agreement by the respective governments, but ratification was not completed. However on 16 June 2014 theNational Security and Defense Council of Ukraine ordered the government to carry out a one-side demarcation of the border "in terms of existing threats to national security", amidst thewar in Donbas.[35]
Starting in May 2015, Ukraine had been building afortifiedborder barrier on the Russia–Ukraine border, popularly known as the "Yatseniuk's Wall". The project aimed to prevent Russian military andhybrid warfare intervention in Ukraine.[36][better source needed]
As of May 2015, a walled defense system was under construction along the Russian border inKharkiv Oblast.[5] The project was planned to be finished in 2018.[37] In June 2020 theState Border Guard of Ukraine expected that the project would be finished by 2025. However, construction work on the wall was stopped whenRussia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.[38]
As of October 30, 2024 all land borer crossings between Ukraine and Russia are officially closed by Ukraine.[39]. Areas that have been annexed and are controlled by Russia may have operating checkpoints into Russia, although these are not legal entry/exit points from by Ukrainian standards.
| Checkpoints over the state border of Ukraine and the border with the Russian Federation as of 30 October 2024[update][40] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
The section of the border between theChernihiv Oblast andBryansk Oblast has length of 183 km (114 mi).[41]
| Checkpoint | Status | Type | P/F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hremiach – Pogar | international | (automobile) | P,F |
| Mykolayivka – Lomakovka | interstate | (automobile) | P,F |
| Senkivka – Novye Yurkovichi3 | international | (automobile) | P,F |
Notes:
| Checkpoint | Status | Type | P/F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachivsk – Troyebornoye | international | (automobile) | P,F |
| Checkpoint | Status | Type | P/F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Katerynivka – Krupets | international | (automobile) | P,F |
| Yunakivka –Sudzha | international | (automobile) | P,F |
| Seredyna-Buda –Zyornovo1, 2 | local | (automobile, pedestrian) | P |
Notes:
| Checkpoint | Status | Type | P/F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Velyka Pysarivka –Graivoron | international | (automobile) | P, F |
| Pokrovka –Kolotilovka | interstate/local | (automobile) | P, F |
| Hrabovske – Staroselye1 | local | (automobile, pedestrian) | P, F |
Notes:
During theRusso-Ukrainian War, the following border checkpoints were shut down.[42][clarification needed][when?]
The section of the border between theDonetsk Oblast andRostov Oblast has length of 178.5 km (110.9 mi).[43]
 | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(May 2018) |
In 16 March 2015, the Russia-Ukrainelocal border traffic agreement was unilaterally terminated by Ukraine citing national security.[45]
On 24 March 2015, the Ukrainian side informed that Russia temporarily froze the local border traffic within the territory of Kharkiv,Sumy and Luhansk regions of Ukraine adjacent to Belgorod and Voronezh regions of the Russian Federation. Local BCPs[clarification needed] "Zhuravlivka" and "Oleksandrivka" (Kharkiv region) were exceptions.[46]
Simplified local border crossing was allowed for the 2015Easter holidays inStanytsia-Luhanska,Milove,Troitske,Novopskov andBilovodsk raions of theLuhansk Oblast.[47]
