Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has shifted the Black Sea region from the periphery to the center of Euro-Atlantic and global security. The Kremlin seeks to dismantle Ukraine’s sovereign statehood, and cutting off Ukraine’s access to the Black Sea would be a major step towards that. Russia has imposed a blockade on Ukrainian ports, attacked civilian vessels, and occupied the Sea of Azov and adjacent coastal territories—but has stopped short of launching an amphibious assault on Ukraine’s main port of Odesa.